Garlic Jr and the Red Heart Crystal
by PsychoFerret
Summary: Cinnamon, the cat-creature, tests Goku's resolve. Goku, in turn, attempts to test Cinnamon's. (chapter 18)
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1 "Serena!!" Luna pounced on Sailor Moon's bed early one Saturday morning. "Sarina! Get up! There is a disturbance in the Earth's energy, and I fear that it might be the Nega-verse at work!"

"It's too early," Sailor Moon said sleepily and rolled over.

"Serena! Get up you lazy oaf!"

"All right! I'm up!" Sailor Moon sat up in bed and rubbed her eyes. "What time is it anyway?"

Luna was getting impatient, "Never mind what time it is! You've got to hurry and gather the Sailor Scouts and get there, fast!"

  


***

  
Goku and Vegeta stood in an old, ornamented building. Neither moved far, but both were bewildered.

"So, is this the place?" Vegeta asked tentatively.

Goku blinked several times in confusion before answering. "I - I'm not sure."

Vegeta walked forward to get a different view on the room. "This place looks like some type of old museum!"

"Except without the exhibits," Goku observed. "Man, it looks abandoned."

At that moment, Sailor Moon, Sailor Mercury, and Sailor Mars, before they turned into Sailor Scouts, burst in through one of the doors. After they flung the double doors open, light spilled in and hit Goku. Vegeta, who is several meters ahead, is not noticed by the girls.

"Hey, you! What are you doing here!?" Sailor Mars barked at Goku.

Goku was confused, "Huh? Wha- me?"

"Yes, you!" Mars took up and aggressive stance. "What do you want, and why are you here?"

Sailor Moon, being the meatball head that she was, jumped back in disgust. "Eew! Where did you get that outfit?! It's horrible!"

"Serena!" Mercury scolded. "Were here to protect the Earth, not give fashion tips to the Mega-verse's minions!"

A Japanese sweatdrop appeared on Sailor Moon's head. "Sorry."

Goku scratched his head in confusion. "What the --?"

"Okay, Pumpkin Man," Mars tried to intimidate Goku, "I wanna know who sent you here and why you've come!"

Goku was becoming more confused by the second. "Tell us now or we'll beat the information outta ya!" Mercury joined the assault.

"I find _that_ hard to believe," Goku muttered to himself. Then, aloud, he said, "My name is Goku, and I was sent here by Dende` to find something called the 'Red Heart Crystal,'"

"Red Heart Crystal," Mars said to Sailors Moon and Mercury, "sounds like something the Mega-verse would be after."

"Yeah," Mercury added her thoughts, "and this Dende` guy could be a new Nega-verse Master."

Sailor Moon was the only one to get side-tracked. "And what kind of name is Goku, anyway? I don't know which is worse, his name or his clothes!"

"_Serena!!_" Mars and Mercury shouted at the same time.

"Oops! Sorry guys!"

"Okay, back on track here!" Mercury stood up straight and addressed Goku, "We are the Sailor Scouts, and we will punish your evil ways!"

Goku raised an eyebrow, "Punish? Evil?"

Mercury then began her transformation. "Mercury power!" she shouted and began spinning. Goku adopted a defensive position, anticipating a quick attack. Mercury began to sparkle, a move that both Goku and Vegeta perceived as a power up, then her dress started to appear. By this time, Goku was getting tired, so he relaxed to a standing position, though still defensive. Mercury ended her transformation with a finishing pose, causing Goku to tense up in preparation of an attack that didn't come.

"I am Sailor Mercury!"

"Sailor?" This time it was Goku who became side-tracked. "As in, 'Pull up the anchor, we're putt'n her ta sea' sailor?"

"No! Not that type of sailor!"

"Then, what?"

"You wouldn't understand!" Mars cut in. "I'm tired of waiting!"

Goku smiled, "So am I!"

"Mars power!" Sailor Mars began her transformation as well.

"Oh boy!" Goku thought that this may actually be an attack, but he was badly mistaken.

Mars spun as Mercury had, and turned into a mirror reflecting pastel light. Goku realized what was happening, humphed, and stood up, not even thinking of defending himself. Mars' dress appeared as Mercury's had done, and she also finished with a pose, but it was different from that of Mercury's. Goku yawned and looked at his wrist, only to remind himself that he didn't wear a watch.

"Okay, Pumpkin Man," Sailor Mars taunted, "it's time you felt the power of fire!"

Goku snapped back into his defensive pose.

"Mars. . . fire. . ." Sailor Mars held her hands in a gun-like position, and began spinning slightly. Goku remained poised for the attack. Sailor Mars spun a little more and positioned her hands in front of her face, spun a few more times, then finished her attack. "Ignite!"

Goku became ecstatic, "All right!"

The spiral of fire seemed to take forever to reach Goku, but he was more than prepared when the attack finally came.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2 Goku gave his battle cry and charged the blast. With one sweep of his arm, he caused the attack to dissipate instead of knocking it aside.

"Huh?" Goku looked surprised. "That was your attack?! How incredibly weak! Geeze, my grandfather could have done better that that!"

"Why you. . .!" Sailor Mars was furious.

Mercury tried her luck. "If fire is easy for you, try my attack on for size! Mercury. . . bubbles. . ."

"Bubbles???" Goku was entirely confused. As Sailor Mercury powered up for her attack, Goku sat down Indian style and rested his head on his hand, preparing for a long wait. Mercury crossed her arms in front of her and spun several times while her attack gathered strength.

"Blast!" Sailor Mercury threw her arms out to her sides, making herself look like a bird with its wings extended. Goku calmly stood up, turned, and took four steps away from the attack. The little blue spheres whizzed by Goku, only upsetting his hair and clothes.

"What?" Sailor Mercury's mouth dropped open.

"I don't believe it!" Sailor Mars clenched her fist in anger. "He dodged that attack like it was nothing!"

Mercury shouted at Goku, "Listen here, 'Go'- whatever you are, you wait until Sailor Moon gets you, you - monster!"

"That's the best you can do?" Goku taunted. "I still like that 'Pumpkin Man' nickname you came up with," Goku looked Mars in the eye and nodded to her. "Anyway, are we going to get to the real fighting, or not?"

"I don't know about you, girls, but I'm getting real tired of this guy," Sailor Moon told Mercury and Mars in a voice that was loud enough even for Vegeta to hear. "Okay, mister, it's time you felt the power of Sailor Moon!"

"Ahem, right. And, how long will this take? I already have an appointment, so, will you make it quick?" Goku crossed his arms in front of his chest, unimpressed.

Sailor Moon didn't hear him, so she began her transformation. "Moon Prism Power!" Sailor Moon held up the Moon Crystal, and became a prismatic silhouette. She maneuvered the crystal to the center of her chest as the white part of her dress appeared.

Goku was bored, and already sitting down. He sighed dramatically as he relaxed, resting his chin in his palm.

As Goku rested, Sailor Moon's boots and gloves materialized around her legs and arms. Her pleated skirt daintily wrapped itself around her waist as she posed in the middle of her transformation.

Goku's eyes started drooping.

Sailor Moon was still transforming. A crescent moon, laid on its side, appeared on her forehead and expanded into her tiara. She finally ended her transformation, as is custom among the Sailor Scouts, with a finishing pose.

"Okay, mister, I am Sailor Moon, protector of good! And, in the name of the moon, I will punish you!"

The only thing that responded to her speech was the sound of Goku, snoring in his sleep.

All three of the present Sailor Scouts were appalled. "Wha-?"

"I don't believe this either!" Sailor Mars exclaimed. "He fell asleep! That no good evil dog fell asleep during Serena's transformation!"

Sailor Moon was venting steam through her ears. "I've had enough of this!" she told her comrades. Then, she shouted at Goku, "Hey, Pumpkin Man Goku!"

Goku was startled out of his nap. Vegeta, too, had zoned out, but was brought back to earth at Sailor Moon's outburst.

"You want action? Well, here you go! Moon . . . Tiara . . ."

Sailor Moon removed her tiara and cocked her arm to throw it. "Magic!" she cried and let the tiara-turned-frisbee fly.

Goku, who wasn't fully awake, was still sitting on the floor. After yawning and stretching, Goku, sleepily, put his hand up and caught the tiara.

"Huh?!" Sailor Moon's jaw dropped open; the rest of the Sailor Scouts followed suit.

"He - he - he," Sailor Mercury stuttered, "he caught Sailor Moon's Magic Tiara!"

"Ya know, I would say that I was surprised, too," Goku said as he rose to his feet, "But, since you're all so unbelievably _**weak,** _ I'm not."

"You barbarian!" Sailor Mars insulted.

"Hey," Goku gave her a stern look as he turned sideways, "I'm not the one who initiated this fight. You are the barbaric ones in my eyes."

Sailor Mars, Mercury, and Moon could only gawk in amazement.

Goku started to walk away. "I think we'll leave now, before anyone gets hurt."

"Hold on, Goku," Sailor Moon halted him in his tracks, "I have one more attack for you!"

Sighing, Goku turned around, still clutching the Moon tiara. "Fine, I'll wait."

Sailor Moon powered up. "Moon," she began, holding up a wand in her hand. Goku yawned. "Scepter," she drew a circle around her with the wand to indicate a full moon.

Goku had pulled out a paddle ball from nowhere and was bouncing the red rubber ball sideways on the wood.

"Elimination!" Sailor Moon finished with a giant sweep of her arm to throw the beam at Goku.

In response to this, Goku half-smiled at the sight of a familiar beam attack and quickly fired off an extremely small version of his Ka-me-ha-me-ha attack. Sailor Moon's Scepter Elimination didn't even stand a chance.

As the Ka-me-ha-me-ha neared Sailor Moon, she froze. No one had ever countered her attack before, and she was left paralyzed in awe.

"Oh Crap!" Goku noticed that he had used too much energy for Sailor Moon's beam to withstand against. "Move it!"

Sailor Mercury dove into Sailor Moon. "Duck!" she shouted as she knocked her aside.

Sailor Moon screamed just as the blast roared through the space where she had been just seconds before. There was a crashing sound as the weak Ka-me-ha-me-ha hit the wall behind her, then all was silent. It took the girls about a minute to recover from the shock.

"Are you okay?" Sailor Mercury managed to whisper to Sailor Moon.

Panting, Sailor Moon answered, "Yeah, I think so."

"You idiot!" Sailor Mars bellowed at Goku. "You could have killed her!"

"Oops!" Goku half-apologized. "Hey, it isn't my fault her attack was too weak to stand up to my beam."

"No," Mercury shouted back, "but it was you who made the attack that strong."

Sailor Mars looked at the wall where his beam had hit. There was a shallow, blackened crater in the wall about three feet in diameter.

Her eyes grew wide at the sight. and her mouth dropped open, "Holy cow! That was one powerful blast!"

Goku scratched the back of his head and smiled modestly, "So I used a little too much power for your tastes? No one was hurt, let's just go our separate ways and forget about it!" He seemed to just remember that he still held the tiara, and tossed it back, "I think this is yours, Sailor Moon. Now, I have to go. You girls had your chance, but now I need to leave."

Goku turned and left. To the Sailor Scouts, his parting "Let's go" was aimed at no one, but Vegeta knew who he was talking to, and quietly followed Goku out a side passage.

"Holy cow, that guy is strong!" Mars commented once more. "Are you sure you're all right, Sailor Moon?"

Sailor Moon sat up next to Sailor Mercury before answering, "Yeah, I'm okay, thanks to you, Mercury."

Sailor Mercury smiled and placed her hand on Sailor Moon's shoulder, "No problem."

Mars knelt down by her friends, "C'mon, let's tell Luna about this guy and see what she thinks of him." 


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3 "So, he's a super-powerful minion named Goku that has been sent by someone called Dende` to find a 'Red Heart Crystal,' right?" Luna repeated the information that the Scouts had given her, after they had turned normal again.

"That's right," Sailor Moon nodded her head vigorously. "And he has the worst outfit I have ever seen! It's orange, but he has a blue. . ."

"Serena!!" Mercury cut Sailor Moon short. "Who cares what he was wearing! What matters is how strong he is!"

Luna looked over at Mercury, "No, I think it does matter this time."

The eyes of all three Sailor Scouts grew wide, and they made a questioning sound.

"If you haven't noticed, all minions of the Nega-verse look like whatever thing they started out as; if something was once a car, they look like an automobile. You see?" Luna theorized. "If this Goku fellow is dressed like something we can identify, then we will know what we are up against."

Sailor Mars understood, "Oh, I see! If we can identify what it is he looks like, we might be able to find his weakness!"

"Right!" Mercury clapped her hands.

Sailor Moon saw a problem, "But what does he look like? What is mostly orange with some blue, and has a name similar to Goku?"

At this, everyone slipped into deep thought.

***

Vegeta leaned against a wall. He and Goku were still in the old building, though now they were in a different room with stained glass windows.

"Great job, Goku! Not only are we lost, confused, and clueless, but now you have us running from a bunch of girls, and they're weak little pansies at that!"

"Vegeta, you just don't get it, do you?" Vegeta looked sideways at Goku. "If I would have fought back any more than I did, I could have seriously hurt someone."

"So? Does it really matter?"

"It does to me."

At this, Vegeta focused his gaze ahead of him, "Humph. And you call yourself a Sayin."

"Actually Vegeta, I call myself a Sayin from Earth; there is a difference."

The two were silent for a short while, then Dende` contacted Goku, "Goku, are you there?"

"Huh? Dende`, is that you? Yes, I'm here!"

"Ah, good, I was afraid that I'd missed you! Anyway, I have an idea of what the Red Heart Crystal's aura might feel like."

"You do? Great!"

"Yes, I understand that I sent you without any former information, but I hope that this will make up for any lost time."

"I'm sure it will, Dende`," Goku agreed. "Can you send us the aura now, or will it take time?"

"I should be able to send it to you in a few minutes, if that's all right."

"Oh, that's fine with me. Heck, the sooner the better!"

"Good! You should be able to feel it in about a minute or so."

Vegeta, who couldn't hear Dende`, was being eaten alive with curiosity, "What's going on? What aura are you talking about? Tell me!"

Goku patiently explained, "Dende` has found out what the Red Heart Crystal might feel like, so he's sending us an aura so we will know what it is we're looking for, er, feeling for, actually."

"He should have given us that before we left; it would have saved us a whole bunch of time," Vegeta criticized.

Goku didn't respond. Instead, he waited for Dende` to send him the aura. It came just a short while later, and stunned even Vegeta.

"Whoa! What is this?!"

Goku chuckled, "Feel that? That's what the Red Heart Crystal's aura feels like. If we want to find this thing fast, we should look for this energy field."

Vegeta stood in awe, "It feels like it's pulsating."

"I know. That's what makes it so unique," Goku clenched his fists, not in anger, but in admiration of this aura.

Dende` chimed in, "Goku, can you feel it?"

"Yes Dende`, both of us can."

"Excellent. Now Goku, this isn't an exact replica of the Red Heart Crystal's aura. The real one may be stronger or weaker, and there may be subtle differences in it's feel; but overall, it is a fairly accurate representation. I hope it will be enough for you two."

"Don't worry, Dende`, I'm sure it will."

***

Mercury had an idea after a very long time of pondering, "What if Goku is some type of bug?"

"Bug?" Sailor Moon was grossed out. "Eek!"

"Serena! Be serious and listen to what Amy has to say!" Luna cut in quickly.

"Thank you, Luna," Mercury continued. "Bugs have some of the highest strength to size ratios, and, since Goku is super strong, he could be based on a bug."

Mars agreed, but found a flaw, "That;s not a bad idea, but what bugs are orange and blue and have a name similar to Goku?"

"Hmm, I'll need to think about that a little bit."

"It isn't a bad thought, though," Luna acknowledged. "But it is getting late, and I think you should get home, Amy and Rae."

Mars sighed, "You're right. C'mon, Amy, let's get going. See you around, Serena."

"Yeah, see you later."

Mars and Mercury left Sailor Moon's room and exited through the front door. After they were gone, Luna outlined her plan to Sailor Moon. "Serena, I have a plan to find out about this 'Goku' person. Tonight, I'll hit the streets and try to scratch up some information on him, then, you can gather all the Scouts tomorrow and I can tell you everything I learned. Sound good?"

"Does it require me to do anything?"

Luna thought for a second, "No."

Sailor Moon smiled and held up her fingers in a peace sign position, "Okay, then! Sounds fine to me! I'll just hop into bed and let you work!"

A large sweatdrop appeared on Luna's head and her eyes became small lines. Soon, though, she was prowling the streets.

People of all shapes and sizes passed the little black cat as she strolled down the sidewalk, thinking to herself. "Now I know that character has to be here somewhere. Hmm, if I were an orange and blue superman, where would I stay? Ah! I know!"

Luna took off in the night, weaving through legs as she went. She ended up at the same place Goku and Vegeta started out in.

"Here we are! The old Museum of Western History! This place is large enough to hide and elephant in, much less a super-freak."

{Author's note: I have no idea if the 'Old Museum of Western History' exists, but it's in there for the story :) }

Luna hopped through a busted window and looked around. Light from the street lamp leaked in through the windows. She saw nothing in this room, but a few rooms later, she struck gold. Vegeta was conveniently out at this moment, but Goku was there, asleep and leaning against the wall.

"Bingo!"

Luna settled down for a long wait while Goku slept lightly. Hours passed, and Luna waited silently. When she felt like she could stay silent no longer, Goku woke up. He yawned, stretched, then stood up.

"I guess Vegeta left, or something," He said to himself.

"Vegeta?" Luna puzzled. "Must be a friend of his; or worse, a boss."

Goku's stomach growled, "I hope he went to find food, I'm starved!"

Just then, Goku felt Luna's presence, but he didn't let on quite yet. Looking around casually, he noticed her crouching in the far corner.

"Hey! A cat!" Goku smiled real wide, like a boy. "Here, kitty, kitty,kitty," He bent down as he beckoned to Luna.

Luna's first reaction was to run, but she had a better idea, "_I could find out a lot more about this guy if I play along._"

With that, she cautiously walked across the cold floor to him.

"_I can't remember the last time anyone has called me 'kitty.' Not even Serena calls me that!_"

"There's a good kitty," Goku cooed as Luna rubbed against his leg. "I'm sorry I don't have any food to offer you. Besides, you look like your pretty well fed as it is."

Luna purred outwardly as Goku stroked her back, but inwardly, she wanted to claw his eyes out for that last statement. 


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4 "Can I, pick you up, kitty?" Goku asked as he put an arm under her stomach and stood up while lifting her to his chest. He cradled her in one arm and smoothed her fur gently with the other hand. Goku chuckled softly when Luna meowed and rubbed her head against his chest.

"You're a very pretty kitty, you know that? And healthy, too. I'd say you're someone's pet, unless strays are fed really good cat food every day!" Goku joked.

Luna purred louder, as if she was making sure that Goku couldn't hear her think as he rubbed her under the chin, "_I might actually like this guy if he keeps the 'pretty' stuff up, but I can't be held responsible for my actions if he starts with that other stuff._"

At that moment, Vegeta returned. Having overheard Goku, he was a little cautious before entering the room, "Who are you talking too?"

Luna's hair stiffened at the sound of Vegeta's harsh voice.

"Vegeta? Oh, I'm just talking to a cat, that's all."

Indignantly, Vegeta stepped into the room.

"Why are you so angry? It's not like I would intentionally tell someone where we were hiding."

"Well, one can never be too careful. Besides, you're not my first pick on partners, ya know."

Luna was absorbing all the information like a sponge.

"I know, Vegeta, but you have to learn to trust me. If it helps any for me to say so, I trust you with my life."

Vegeta looked shocked, but only for a second, when Goku admitted that. After the moment passed, he laughed, "Me, trust _you!?_ I don't think so, Kakarot!"

Goku patiently, and almost knowingly, smiled, but said nothing.

"As soon as you or I find that 'Red Heart Crystal' and return it to Dende`, we are no longer friends, Kakarot; we're enemies."

Goku shrugged, "Suit yourself." Then, offhandedly, he added, "You wouldn't happen to have anything to eat on you, would you?"

Vegeta looked up at the ceiling and sighed. He tossed an apple to Goku, "This is all I have. I _was_ saving it for later," he trailed off.

Goku caught the apple, and was about to eat it, then remembered Luna. "Hey, Vegeta, you wanna hold the cat?"

"_No!_"

"C'mon Vegeta, she's really sweet."

"I am _not_ holding any cat!"

"What's wrong? Afraid of a little kitty cat?" Goku held Luna out slightly.

"I don't like where this is going!" Luna predicted, tensing up as Goku held her out.

Vegeta turned his back to Goku, "I'm not afraid of cats, I just hate them."

"Why would you hate a cat? They're so cute and lovable. I mean, look at her, she's practically adorable!" Goku childishly cradled Luna to him.

A small sweatdrop appeared on Luna's face, "_Practically?_"

"Adorable!?" Vegeta looked crossly over his shoulder. "More like evil! Cats are the most overpopulated feral animals in the world! Not to mention that they are some of the fiercest, too."

Goku took a few steps towards him, making Luna even more nervous, even though she was not being held out anymore. "But Vegeta, you have to look at the opposite end of the spectrum. Cats outnumber dogs as house pets, they keep the rat in controllable numbers, and they are great companions!"

Vegeta could tell that Goku was walking toward him without even turning around, so he made his makeshift partner halt, "Bring that cat one step closer and I'll ring its neck!" Goku stopped dead in his tracks. "You really don't like cats, do you?"

"I hate them with everything I have! The only thing they're good for is stringing violins!"

"Vegeta! You can't mean that!"

"Well I do! And if you think you can change my mind, Kakarot, you are badly mistaken!"

Goku was fed up, but he still kept his cool; Luna admired him for that. "Fine, I won't try to change your mind, but only if you stop calling me 'Kakarot,' deal?"

"I will call you whatever I want, Kakarot," Vegeta stubbornly emphasized Goku's Sayin name.

Goku had no retaliation, and merely set Luna on the ground. He changed the subject, "Whatever. Come on, we have to search for the Red Heart Crystal now."

"_What?_" Luna freaked mentally. "_Oh no! I lost track of time! I'd better get back to Serena and tell her everything!_"

Goku headed for the doorway behind Vegeta as Luna went for a broken side door. When Goku said, "Let's go," something made Luna pause, though she didn't know why. The cat raced down the sidewalk, dodging people's legs all the way in the early morning.

Luna slowed down to a walk a few blocks from Serena's home, "_Why am I running? It's a Sunday! Serena is probably still asleep._" She ran into Amy, "Oh, Amy! How nice to see you!"

"Hi, Luna! Where have you been?"

"You won't believe it! But I can't tell you now; I know. Come to Serena's with me and I'll tell both of you the whole story!"

"Okay, sounds great!" Luna finished up her story in Serena's room. Serena was still in her pajamas.

"And something I found out, is that this Vegeta person hates cats!"

Amy posed a question, "Why would he hate cats? You know, it could be a hint as to what these guys are."

"Could be," Luna acknowledged.

"Hey, what did Vegeta look like?"

"Good question, Serena!" Amy applauded. "I thought you were going to ask something stupid!"

Sailor Moon just stared at Mercury as Luna answered, "Well, it was a little difficult to tell, as it was dark and he had his back to me most of the time, but I can say with certainty that he was much shorter than Goku, maybe five feet tall or less."

"Wow," Amy commented, "that is short. What else can you tell us?"

"His hair did stand straight up; it didn't flop over like Goku's. I'm not positive as to what color it was, but it was most likely black or dark brown. Also, I think he was wearing a blue suit underneath a white vest of some sort. And he was an extremely angry fellow! He seemed angry at Goku even before he entered the room!"

Amy was surprised, "Really? I know I shouldn't be this surprised, after all, you did say that Vegeta wanted to go back to being enemies with Goku. But I'm just curious as to why he'd want it that way. Goku seems like a fairly nice guy.

"I know!" Serena chimed in. "He didn't even want to hurt a cat, now, how could anyone like that have an enemy?"

"I don't think Goku is the one who wants to be enemies with Vegeta. Goku doesn't even want to be called 'Kakarot' by Vegeta. I'm afraid that I don't understand them," Luna shook her head. "And I still have no idea what Goku might be."

"I don't think any of us do, Luna," Amy tried to make Luna feel better. "Hey, did Goku say anything else to you or Vegeta?"

Luna had a thoughtful look on her face, then she smiled, "Well, there is one thing."

"What is it?" The two urged, hoping for another clue.

"He called me 'kitty'!"

Sailor Moon and Mercury were disappointed. Just then, Sailor Moon's mother called up.

"Serena, you need to have breakfast!"

"All right Mom! I'll be there in a minute!"

Amy and Luna stepped outside while Serena changed. When Moon came down stairs, she gave her mom an excuse to get out of a full breakfast, and snatched an orange instead. After the three went outside, Serena started eating her "breakfast." They walked into town and Sailor Moon threw away the orange peel as she passed a garbage can.

"I wonder if Goku is really our enemy," Amy pondered aloud. "I mean, he didn't want to fight us, he made that very clear. And even when he did fight back, he could have destroyed you, Serena, but he chose to try and help you instead. And then he just walked away! He could have killed us all, but, instead, he left!"

Luna raised her ears, "You may be right, buy we can't be sure. We'll have to play it safe until we know for certain."

From ahead, the girls heard someone scream. Amy and Luna were the first to take off, and Sailor Moon followed clumsily. The screaming continued as they ran.

"It's coming from the jewelry shop!" Amy exclaimed.

Inside, a Nega-verse minion, modeled after a diamond cutter, was terrorizing the shop keeper. The screaming was coming from a customer, who was crouched behind a display case. The diamond cutter had a magnifying glass strapped around her head, with the glass piece over her eye. She had a lot of gold and diamond jewelry, a large battery pack on her back, and a diamond-tipped drill attached to the battery via an electrical cord.

"Come out, come out, my little Pure Heart" she sang awkwardly as she searched for the hiding jeweler. She found him cowering under a desk, "Ha-ha! Got ya, you slippery thing!"

The jeweler exclaimed in fear as the monster sucked out his heart crystal with her non-drill hand. She laughed wickedly while she held the crystal.

Serena transformed into her outfit at the same time as Amy, saving some time.

Sailor Moon got the monster's attention, "Give that back! It doesn't belong to you!"

"Oh no! Sailor Moon!" the diamond cutter gritted her teeth. "Excuse me, but I have somewhere to be! Ha-ha-ha-ha!"

Sailor Mercury intervened, "You're not getting away with that Heart Crystal! Mercury . . . Bubbles . . . Blast!"

Mercury crossed her arms over her chest, spun a few times, and fired. The monster barely dodged the bubble attack by diving aside.

"You fool!" she yelled. "You could have broken the Heart Crystal!"

Serena, rather reluctantly, agreed, "She's right. You should be more careful."

The monster wasted no time in retaliation. She used her drill and tried to drill a hone from Mercury's head to her feet. Screaming, Sailor Mercury scrambled backwards and hurt her leg falling down.

"Now, you pesky rodent, I'm going to fill you full of holes, just like Swiss Cheese!" the monster raised her drill to finish off Mercury; however, Sailor Moon intervened.

"Stop it! She's not the one you want!"

The monster was confused, "What d'ya mean?"

"I am Sailor Moon; champion of truth and justice, protector of the innocent! In the name of the Moon, I will punish you!" 


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 7 The monster jumped past Sailor Mercury and headed for the door, "That's what you think!"

"Hey! That's not fair!" Sailor Moon cried out childishly. "Come back here!"

Sailor Moon burst out the door, and found the diamond cutter standing in the middle of the street, facing Goku. A crowd had gathered, and the people were arranged in two crescent patters. Even a few people from across the street were watching.

Sailor Moon and Luna were baffled by Goku's mysterious appearance. The monster was just plain angry.

"Who are you? How dare you get in my way!"

Goku smiled, "You didn't let me answer you question."

"Who cares! Just get out of my way!"

"Sorry, no can do," Goku held his ground. "You see, you stole something that doesn't belong to you, and I want you to give it back."

The monster cackled wickedly, "You sure can talk, pretty boy, but let's see you put your money where your mouth is!"

The monster threw off several gold bracelets, which expanded in the air and contracted around Goku. Goku gave a shout of surprise at the speed of the attack, but quickly realized that it was harmless.

"Ha-ha-ha-ha! I knew you couldn't stand up to my superior power!"

Sailor Moon stepped in, "You leave that man alone!"

"Oh-ho! So the famous Sailor Moon is trying to save her friend, how touching," the diamond cutter mocked. "Well, you can join him! Yaa!"

The monster threw off two more bracelets, catching Sailor Moon in them. She laughed her witch-like laugh.

Goku interrupted, "Um, excuse me, but, is this supposed to hurt? Because it's doing a really bad job of it."

The diamond cutter turned around, holding the Heart Crystal in plain view, "What? You stupid fool, it's not supposed to hurt, only hold you still!"

"Oh, well, it's doing a really bad job of that, too!" Goku comically added just before slipping out of the rings too quickly for people to see him. The gold bands clattered to the ground and returned to normal bracelet size.

"How!?" the monster's eyes went wide.

"Simple trick of illusion, that's how," Goku walked forward. "Now, you can return that crystal yourself, or you can give it to me."

"Never!!"

Goku shrugged, "Okay, we'll play it the hard way. My grandfather always told me not to hit a lady, but I just might make an exception in this case."

"No, wait! I am a lady, you shouldn't hit me!" the monster begged.

"Fine," Goku said placidly before he seemed to teleport over to the diamond cutter. He clasped her wrist in one hand and her drill in the other. She screamed and accidentally threw the crystal while she fell over. Goku tried to jump after it, but the monster grabbed his leg, tripping him.

"If I can't have it, no one can! Ha-ha-ha-ha!"

Sailor Moon called to Luna, "Luna! Save the crystal!!"

"I'm already on it!" Luna called back, rushing forward in a desperate attempt to save the Heart Crystal.

Goku couldn't bring himself to kick the monster, her being a lady and all, so he watched the crystal fly through the air. From behind the crowd, a small blue and white form leapt into the air, ricocheted off the store wall, and deftly caught the crystal. Clutching the crystal to his chest, Vegeta somersaulted in the air before landing gracefully in a crouch just behind Luna.

Goku laughed with relief, "Vegeta! Good timing!"

"Just a simple trick, Kakarot," Vegeta chuckled. "Just a simple trick."

Using his arms, Goku hefted himself off the ground and twisted, forcing the diamond cutter to let go of his leg.

The monster was livid, "No!! This isn't possible! Nothing is stronger than a diamond; I'm not supposed to loose!"

"Get used to it," Goku looked over his shoulder, "it'll happen again if you don't get stronger."

Luna figured out that Goku wasn't going to destroy the monster, but couldn't tell him outright to do so. Luckily for her, Sailor Moon figured it out, too.

"Are you nuts?" Sailor Moon clumsily fought her restraints. "You have to eliminate her now, or she will strike again! You idiot! Don't you understand!?"

Goku was taken aback, "I can't kill her, she's a girl! To do so would be to go against everything I believe in!"

Sailor Moon, and Luna, had a teardrop on her head, "Just do it! She isn't even a real lady! She's just an entity that has taken over a jeweler's diamond-cutting drill!"

Goku raised an eyebrow; he didn't understand.

Vegeta, on the other hand, didn't really care if she was a real woman or not, and was just thankful for the excuse to blow something up. Vegeta haphazardly tossed the Heart Crystal to Goku, "You wimp! Hold this and watch a real man work."

"Hey! Be careful! These crystals are very fragile; you could have broken it!"

"See if I care!"

people could only watch on. The diamond cutter rose to her feet and tried to skewer Vegeta on her drill. Vegeta sidestepped to dodge it and landed a fist hard into the monster's stomach. Her eyes bulged. It was hard for her to breathe, much less move. When Vegeta took his arm away, she fell to the ground in a heap.

"You dirty rat!" She wheezed.

Vegeta scowled, "Now you know what happens to those who oppose Vegeta."

He put his hand out, palm facing the monster, and in the blink of an eye, shot a little power ball into her back. Screaming, the monster glowed white, then turned back into a diamond-cutting drill. Vegeta didn't even flinch.

Vegeta made a disapproving sound, "How weak." He then walked back to an awestruck Goku, "It's not the right one."

Goku snapped out of his trance, "Uh, no, it's not. We should give it back."

"Ha! Why waste our time?"

"Well, because it's the right thing to do," Goku headed in the direction of the jewelry shop.

Rather reluctantly, Vegeta followed. Inside the shop, only Sailor Mercury and the jeweler remained. Vegeta waited just inside the door, leaning against the wall, while Goku headed for the jeweler.

"Hey! St-" Mercury tried to stop Goku, but then she saw that he had the Heart Crystal. "He's going to give it back!" She thought triumphantly.

Goku knelt in front of the man and held the crystal out. As if it knew what to do, the Heart Crystal returned to its rightful owner. 


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6 With that accomplished, Goku turned to Sailor Mercury.

"Are you okay?" He knelt beside her.

Mercury was caught off guard by his kind words, "Y-yes, I will be. I hurt my leg when I fell, I'll just need some time to heal.

"Can you stand?" Goku's tone was extremely gentle.

"I-I don't know. I haven't really tried yet," Mercury told him truthfully.

Goku just smiled and spoke softly, "Here, I'll help you. If your willing to try, that is."

"O-okay."

Vegeta rolled his eyes. Sailor Mercury attempted to get up but fell back. Goku placed an arm around her shoulders and practically lifted her up the next time she tried. Mercury didn't put much weight on her right leg, which made it difficult for her to walk.

"You might want to get a doctor to look at that," Goku advised.

Sailor Mercury blushed as Goku helped her, "I probably just twisted it, or something. Really, it's nothing too serious."

The pair passed Vegeta on the way out. "You are one very interesting man, Goku," he mumbled.

Goku only smiled. Vegeta followed Sailor Mercury out the door, just as the jeweler started to come-to. Outside, people were attempting to free Sailor Moon of her restraints, but no one could get her out. Even Luna was trying in her own ways.

"Mercury! Thank goodness!" Sailor Moon exclaimed breathlessly. "Do ya think you could give me a hand here?"

Sailor Mercury looked at the ground, "Sorry, Sailor Moon, but I don't think I can be of much help. You could try, Mr. Goku."

"What!?" Sailor Moon almost fell over.

Goku didn't seem to notice, "All right, I can try. Do you think you can stand on your own for a while?"

Mercury looked him straight in the eye, "I can try."

Goku nodded, and slowly eased away from her. When he knew she was standing fine, he went to help Sailor Moon.

Placing both hands on one band, he instructed, "Don't move, I could hurt you accidentally if you do."

Focusing his energy, Goku made the part of the band between his hands glow hotly. At the center, a small crack appeared, and Goku forced the ends apart. The giant gold bracelet was now big enough for Sailor Moon to slop out of, but he had to repeat the process with the other one before she could slip out completely.

Free of her confines, Sailor Moon thanked Goku, "Thanks! Man, you really are one heck of a guy."

"No problem!" Goku said cheerfully.

At that moment, Mercury lost her balance and started to topple backwards. She shrieked and pinwheeled her arms. Goku responded too slowly to catch her, but Vegeta zipped in and checked her fall. Mercury was a little confused, but Vegeta returned her to her feet anyway.

Sailor Moon was pleasantly surprised, "Good catch."

"Humph," Vegeta crossed his arms over his chest and turned away.

Sailor Moon whispered to Goku, "What's his problem?" She went to help Mercury as he answered.

"Oh, he's always like that. I think he wants to help people, but doesn't want them to know that he helps on purpose." Goku said under his breath.

"That makes no sense what-so-ever," Sailor Moon commented quietly.

"It makes sense to him," Goku responded, too quietly for Vegeta to hear. "Anyway, we should be going now. It was nice meeting you again, but we have things to do."

Sailor Moon helped steady Mercury, "You know, if your not too busy, d'ya think you can tell us a little more about yourself and why you've come here?"

"I think that's okay," Goku looked like he was thinking hard. "What time would be best for you, and where should we meet?"

The crowed had disappeared and Vegeta was getting impatient, "Would you hurry it up, Kakarot! We haven't got all day!"

Goku glared at Vegeta for a second, then looked at Sailor Moon for the answer.

"How about at four o'clock today in front of the arcade?"

"Sounds great! See ya there!" Goku waved over his shoulder and walked away.

"Finally!" Vegeta breathed and walked beside Goku. "You could have made that a lot shorter by simply saying 'bye' and walking away."

"I could have, but then they might still call us enemies."

"So?"

Back at the jeweler's shop, Sailor Moon had a far-off look in her eyes, "Wow! What a guy! I can hardly believe he's really going to meet me!"

"Sailor Moon! I should have known you set that appointment up for something else!" Mercury sighed.

"Look on the bright side," Sailor Moon walked slowly with Mercury, "if we can get this guy on my side, we won't have to do any work! Besides, he's so cute!"

Luna jumped to Sailor Moon's shoulder, "Knock it off! I highly doubt that he's here to chase down a date. He's probably much older than you, anyway."

Sailor Moon turned on Luna, "You're just saying that because your jealous! You wish that you could find another cat just like him!"

"What are you talking about, Sailor Moon?"

"Oh, some cat to call you 'kitty!' Ooo! You'd love that, wouldn't you, Luna?"

"Serena! Stop this nonsense immediately! We have to get Amy to the hospital."

"All right."

***

Serena and Rae stood in front of the arcade, waiting for Goku to show up. Serena was getting impatient.

"Geeze, calm down, Serena. He probably got caught up in something."

Serena glared at Rae, "Like what?"

Rae shrugged, "I dunno. Maybe he's off saving the world, or something like that. From what I heard, you don't find guys like him just wandering around the streets; I bet he's got a full schedule."

"Who's got a full schedule?" Darien surprised the girls.

"Huh? Oh, hi, Darien!" Serena smiled sweetly. "Rae and I were just talking about this guy we met, that's all."

"That's all?" Darien was interested. "What does he look like? What's his name?"

Serena fumbled over her answer, "Um, his name i-is Goku. He's pretty tall, he has black hair, and he wears this weird blue and orange outfit."

"Really? Is he nice?" Darien pressed.

"Oh yes! He's very nice! And he's strong, too!"

Rae cut their conversation short, "There he is!"

Goku walked over to them, "Hi, sorry I'm late."

Serena forgave him, "That's okay!" She changed the subject quickly, "We were just telling Darien about you! Darien, this is Goku. Goku, this is Darien."

The two shook hands, then Rae realized that something was very wrong. "Serena, can I talk to you for a minute, alone?"

"Why? What's the matter, Rae?"

Rae pulled Serena aside, "Serena, how'd he know who we are? The only times he's really been able to get a good look at us was when we were Sailor Scouts!"

"Your point?"

"How did he know to say 'hi' to us? He shouldn't know that you're Sailor Moon or that I'm Sailor Mars! Something is very strange here."

Meanwhile, Goku and Darien struck up a conversation.

"So, Darien, are you her boyfriend?"

"I'd like to think so," Darien shrugged, "but sometimes I'm not so sure."

"Why's that?"

"Serena's always chasing down other guys, and just when I think we're really starting something, she gives out on me."

"Don't be too upset. She'll come to her senses sooner or later."

"I would prefer sooner," Darien sighed. "Serena tells me that you're pretty strong. Do you lift weights or something?"

"Me? Actually, I'm a martial arts master."

"A master? Wow! Of what art form?"

"I've mastered two, really: the art of the Turtle, and the art of Keo-ken."

"Cool. I've never head of either, though," Darien confessed.

Goku chuckled, "I didn't expect that you would. Neither are very popular, but I find them interesting none the less."

"Neat."

Serena and Rae returned then; Serena looking more than a little suspicious. "So, Goku," She started, "what's the deal on the Red Heart Crystal? Have you found it yet?"

"No, we haven't found it yet," Rae's and Serena's relief was prominent when Goku said that. "We're still looking."

Darien interrupted, "We? Who else is working with you?"

"A guy by the name Vegeta. He and I are makeshift partners."

Darien nodded understandingly, "I see. Sorry, please continue."

"Dende` sent the two of us here to find the Crystal before Garlic Junior gets his hands on it. Vegeta doesn't really care if we find it, though, and I'm afraid that he might deliberately pass it up; or worse, destroy it."

"Why was he sent here, then, if he might not help?" Rae was curious.

"Dende` sent Vegeta and myself because we're the strongest people where we come from. If we do happen to run into Garlic, Dende` wants to give the Earth the best possible chance for survival."

"Sounds serious," Darien commented. "By the way, who is this Garlic Junior?"

"Garlic is a very interesting opponent. He can more than quadruple his size, if the alignment of the stars is right, and he can link the world of the living to the world of the dead. creating a type of 'Deadzone.' Also, Garlic Junior is immortal, so you can't kill him."

Serena was appalled, "Immortal! There's no such thing, is there?"

"There is where I come from, and that's the worst part about Garlic. The only way to get rid of him is to lock him in one of his own Deadzones, and even that doesn't guarantee complete safety."

"I know we've run into some pretty tough opponents, but this guy seems extra bad," Rae noted.

Darien took the conversation a little deeper, "So, what does the Red Heart Crystal have to do with Garlic Junior?"

"Good question," Goku acknowledged. "If Garlic gets the Red Heart Crystal, he will become stronger. He won't have to worry about the stars when he wants to transform, and will succeed in filling the Earth with evil."

"Ouch," Darien said worriedly. "Garlic Junior must be a pretty bad guy."

Goku nodded once, "The worst."

"What will you do when you find the Red Heart Crystal?" Sailor Mars questioned.

"We'd bring it back to Dende`, where he can use it against Garlic if the need arises."

"What if you run into trouble?" Sailor Moon raised an eyebrow.

"What kind of trouble?"

"Well, like the Sailor Scouts. What if they think you're evil and try to stop you?"

Goku just laughed lightheartedly, "Oh, come on! You guys wouldn't do that, not after today!"

Sailor Moon and Sailor Mars were shocked.

"Okay, I'll be blunt," Sailor Moon leaned back and folded her arms, "how do you know who we are?"


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7 "First of all, your auras are unique to you two, and no matter what you wear, it stays the same. Second of all, you don't use masks. Even someone who couldn't sense energies could tell who you were," Goku finished logically.

"Sensing energies? You are one heck of a guy, Goku," Rae complemented.

"Why, thank you," Goku beamed. "Oh, how's your friend doing? Did she hurt her leg real bad, or what?"

Rae inquired to Serena, "Who hurt her leg, Serena? Was it Amy?"

Serena tapped her fingers together, "Well, Amy took a bad fall earlier this morning, and Goku just wants to know how she is."

Darien was worried, ""And how is she?"

"Amy sprained her knee and twisted her ankle. The doctor says that she'll be all right, she just needs to stay of her feet for a while."

"It's good to know she'll be all right," Goku admitted. "So, is there anything else you want to know?"

Sailor Moon looked wistful, "Well, now that you mention it, a little information about you would be nice."

Goku placed his hands on his hips, "Okay. My name is Goku, but you already knew that, I'm married, and I have two sons, Gohan and Goten."

Darien half-smiled at the disappointed look on Serena's face. Then, he got to thinking that there was more to Goku's story, "Wait a minute, you didn't tell them about your Martial Arts methods! You have to tell them about that!"

Rae was instantly interested, "You're in to Martial Arts? Cool!"

"Makes sense," Serena recrossed her arms. "How else could you do all that stuff."

Rae ignored her, "What kind of style do you practice?"

"I practice mainly with the Keo-ken style, but sometimes I brush up on my Turtle style."

"You fight in two styles!?" Rae's eyes went wide. "Awesome! How do you keep them straight?"

"It was difficult at first, but it's real easy for me now."

Darien had a question, "How long have you been practicing those styles?"

"I-um, well, I've been practicing the Turtle style since I was just a little guy, and I moved on to the Keo-ken methods in my twenties."

Serena was disappointed, "And, how old are you now?"

"I'd prefer not to say."

Just then, a hair-raising voice entered the conversation, "There you are, Kakarot! I've been looking all over this God-forsaken city for you!"

Goku remained relaxed, but everyone else jumped.

"Oh, hi Vegeta."

"Don't 'hi' me, mister, I'm not in the mood!"

"Why not?" Goku asked innocently.

"You know why! You left me stranded in the middle of nowhere, pursuing some impossible task, while you flirt with the ladies!"

"Vegeta!" Goku defended, "I'm not flirting, I'm trying to gain allies!"

"Oh? Who, the 'Sailor Wimps?' Don't make me laugh."

"Vegeta, relax. They're not that bad," Goku gently confronted Vegeta. "Besides, they can help us; they know a lot about Heart Crystals. If we need help, we will have someone to fall back on."

Vegeta scowled, "You mean, if _you_ need help. _I_ know exactly what I'm looking for, and I'll find it myself."

"You never know when something might happen. Just meet them, okay?"

"No," Vegeta answered stubbornly without a second thought.

"Come on!" Goku practically pulled Vegeta next to him. "Vegeta, this is Rae, Serena, and Darien. You'd probably know these two better as Sailor Mars and Sailor Moon. Everyone, this is Vegeta."

Darien was the first to respond, "Hello. Goku was just explaining your mission to us. Sounds like you're and important man where you come from."

" 'Bout as important as a drop of water to a drowning man," Vegeta put himself down. He turned on Goku, "Our mission is a secret! We weren't supposed to tell anyone!"

"What are you talking about? Dende` never said anything about that!"

Vegeta fisted his hands, "You muscle-brained idiot! Dende` doesn't have to say anything, it's just common sense! What do you think would happen if Garlic got a hold on one of them, and forced them to tell him where the Heart Crystal is? All Hell would break loose! And who would be to blame? You!"

The realization slapped Goku across the face, "Sorry, I didn't think it would matter."

"That's the problem with you, Kakarot," Vegeta turned away from the group, "you don't think."

"Vegeta, give me a break! We could use some friends to help us here, and I doubt Garlic will be able to single out three, possibly four, kids from the entire city. The possibility of it happening is next to nothing!

Vegeta scolded, "The possibility would have been nothing if you hadn't told them!" He started away, "Let's go."

"No," Goku said, determined. "You can go, but I plan to stay with our friends for a little longer."

Vegeta didn't say a word as he stepped away. Darien, Rae, Serena, and Goku stood in silence and watched him leave.

"What a creep," Rae shivered after Vegeta was out of sight. "I wonder why he acts like that."

Goku answered Rae's question, "Vegeta's always that way. I think it has something to do with his childhood."

Darien, of course, was concerned, "What happened to him? Was he abused?"

"No, not abused in the normal sense," Goku faced the group. "When he was a kid, about 10, maybe younger, his father was killed and he was taken away from his home. Afterwards, he spent the rest of his younger life as a soldier, believe it or not, for someone called 'Frieza.' When he got older, he became captain of one of Frieza's special forces, until his subordanants were killed, that is. Eventually, he broke away from the Frieza, settled down a little, and started a family, but he never quite learned patience or compassion."

"Well, there's always two sides to every story, and you should listen to both before making your predictions," Serena said, almost philosophically.

Rae and Darien were surprised.

"Who told you that one?" Rae didn't believe that Serena made that up on her own.

Serena dropped her head, "My English teacher."

"I thought so." Goku praised Serena's quote, "You are right, and that's why I give him as much respect as I do. Vegeta had a hard life and was shown hardly any kindness, so he doesn't know how to express that emotion. But I have to admire him because he's trying to change his life, and he's done a good job of that already."

Rae was ashamed, "I should have learned a little more about him before I made up my mind about him."

"Hey, it's not too late to change your opinions," Goku told her honestly.

"That sounds like a good idea; I'll do that!"

Darien presented another question to Goku, "Hey, Goku, why did Vegeta call you Kakarot? Is that your last name, or something?"


	8. Chapter 8

"Not really. Oh, how can I put this? The person I call my grandfather raised me from when I was a baby. He wasn't really my grandfather, and Vegeta thinks that I'm one of his 'lost relatives' that was called Kakarot, and Grandfather Gohan's stories lead me to believe that he might be right. I know I'm not closely related to Vegeta, even he admits that, but somewhere along the line, he learned of my, well, lets call it my disappearance, and he strongly thinks that Grandfather Gohan found me and raised me."

"Twisted," Darien expressed his surprise.

"Wait a minute, didn't you say you had a son named Gohan?" Rae puzzled.

Goku beamed, "Yes, I do. I named my first born after my grandfather."

"Aww, how sweet," Serena cooed.

Darien turned around to check the time on the arcade's clock.

"It's almost dinner time. Do you guys want to find someplace to eat at?"

"I'd love to!" Serena agreed readily.

"Yeah, sounds great," Rae smiled.

"Sure," Goku responded, then took his statement back. "Wait, I can't. I don't have any money, and I kinda have to get back to work."

Serena was bummed, "Aw, man!"

"Don't worry, I'm sure we'll meet again. Bye!"

***

In the orange rays cast by a dying Sunday sun, Goku found Vegeta by the ocean dock, leaning on a guard rail.

Vegeta didn't even have to turn around to know of Goku's approach, "I'm guessing you didn't find it."

"Nope," Goku joined Vegeta in looking across the water, "and I'm guessing that you didn't find it, either."

"Not a trace. I'm beginning to wonder if Dende` sent us to the wrong place. We've already been here for about 36 hours and we don't have any lead of any kind."

"Just give it time, Vegeta. We'll find it eventually."

"Yeah," Vegeta scoffed, "I'll be a hundred and two and in a wheelchair, but we'll find it."

Goku couldn't help but chuckle at Vegeta's dry humor, "It won't take that long, I promise. Now, let's get back; it's getting late and we need our rest for tomorrow."

Vegeta sighed, and turned to leave with Goku.

Back at the old museum, Vegeta and Goku relaxed against the cold stone of a second-story room. Vegeta slunk into the corner to sleep, while Goku leaned against the wall right between two of the room's three stained glass windows. The pair weren't asleep for more than an hour when it started to storm. Being the lighter sleeper of the two, woke up at the first sound of heavy rain. Goku followed suit shortly after, when lightning and thunder made their introductions.

"So much for rest," Vegeta said coldly from the shadows.

"Yep."

Lightning flashed again, and was followed almost immediately by thunder. The deep boom seemed to rattle the very foundation of the old building. Vegeta sighed, and drew into himself for meditation. Goku repositioned himself to look out one of the colored panes of the window. Electric street lamps lit the road and parts of the sidewalk, but no one was out. A gigantic bolt of lightning blinded Goku for a few moments, but not before he was able to see something that he hadn't noticed before. With his Super-Sayin eyes, he recognized a familiar looking black cat huddled beneath an ornamental roadside bush. He had to do something, he was Goku, after all, so he stood up and headed for the doorway.

Vegeta interrupted him without opening his eyes, "And just where do you think you're going?"

"Out. There's something I need to do."

"You can't be serious! It's raining cats and dogs out there!"

Goku smiled, "I know."

Once downstairs and by the front door, Goku looked each way down the street before plunging out into the stormy night. He was almost instantly soaked through by the time his boots had splashed in the street's quickly forming puddles. Vegeta watched him secretly from the second floor. Goku placed an arm in front of his face to try and keep the water out of his eyes as he neared the cat. The black cat didn't see him coming, so she freaked when he knelt down beside her. Soon, she recognized Goku and stopped hissing.

"It's okay, kitty. I'm only trying to help you."

The cat, Luna, backed up apprehensively when Goku reached out for her. Intelligently, Goku yanked off his orange shirt and speedily nabbed her in it. Wrapping her up, he bolted for the old museum when he knew she couldn't get out. He waited until he was at the base of the stairwell before releasing her. With a "rair," Luna shot out of Goku's arms and hit the floor bristling. Goku had to laugh.

"Silly kitty, there's no need for that, you're safe in here. See? No rain."

Luna calmed herself and sat down such that she could look at Goku; both of them were dripping wet. A drop of water slid off Luna's whisker and hit the floor with a plop. Goku took the orange shirt in his hands and wrung it out, causing a small waterfall. Luna's response to this was leaving a wet streak on the floor when she swished her tail.

Unfolding his shirt, Goku balanced it over the railing, "This is going to take forever to dry, kitty." He peeled his blue weighted shirt off and over his head, "This too."

"Meow," Luna got up and rubbed her leg against his rather soggy leg.

"Is that a thank you?" Goku asked while he laid his shirt over a stair to dry. He wrung his hair out while saying, "You know, Vegeta's not going to like a cat hanging around here, so you should stay well away from him for your own safety."

Luna thought to herself, "_I don't have any intention to go anywhere nearer to him than I have to._"

Goku sat down next to his blue shirt and took off his boots, setting them on the floor to dry. Luna bounced up a few stairs so she could be next to him.

"_There isn't an inch of fat on this guy,_" she marveled, "_he's all muscle!_"

Goku leaned back on his elbows, "Do you belong to someone, kitty? If you do, why were you out in the middle of that storm? Don't you have a real home to go to?"

"Meow, row," Luna vocalized.

"You probably don't understand a word I say, do you, kitty?" Goku used his hand nearest to Luna to rub her head, turning her wet fur into little spikes. "Ha! You look silly that way, almost like a Sayin-cat!"

Luna became interested immediately and left her fur the way it was, "_Sayin-cat? What does he mean by that? Perhaps I can milk a little more information out of him._" She pressed her head into Goku's side, purring.

"Do you like that idea?"

"Meow!"

"You and I could be Sayins together, kitty, and we could see the world! Okay, maybe not the world," Goku looked Luna in the eye, "but we could still be good friends, right?"

Luna purred and nuzzled Goku. She became frightened when thunder rattled the old building, but Goku didn't seem to notice it any. "I wonder what life was like to live on planet Vegeta. I've lived on Earth for as long as I can remember, so I don't know much about my home planet. I'll have to ask Vegeta one of these days; after all, the Sayin Planet is his namesake." Luna had settled down by now. "Or maybe I can ask King Kai, he might know something about the actual planet, and not just its history." 


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9 Luna could tell that lightning flashed by the way different doorways lit up, and by the boom of thunder that followed. The storm was becoming more fierce by the minute, scaring Luna more and more until Goku gently moved her to his lap.

"If you're going to be a Sayin-cat, you're going to need a Sayin name. Let's see, what can we call you! The only real Sayin names I know are guy's names, so we'll just make up one," Goku tilted his head back in thought. "How about Meta? That sounds pretty nice, don't you think?"

Luna wasn't sure what she thought of the name, but decided it would be best to let Goku do what he wished, "Meow."

Goku scratched behind her ears, "Good, I'm glad you like it, kitty. It even sounds like a Sayin name; I think I've outdone myself this time, 'Meta.' "

Luna pondered silently, "_There's no way this guy can be with the Nega-verse, can he? No, he's way too nice. His partner on the other hand..,_" Luna's thoughts trailed off as she realized how sleepy she was. With a little cat yawn, she pulled her tail around her and fell asleep right there on Goku's stomach.

Luna awoke to the sound of people talking. She yawned, stretched, and blinked a few timed to wake herself up. When she was up enough to understand what was being said, she heard Goku and Vegeta carrying out a conversation.

"You were the one that was stupid enough to go out in the storm last night."

"I know, Vegeta, but it doesn't matter! It's still raining outside, so we don't have to do anything until the storm stops."

Luna had no idea what they were arguing about, so she assessed the situation instead. She was still on Goku's lap, he was still sitting shirtless on the stairs, and Vegeta was about a meter ahead of them, leaning against a wall.

"Great, just what I always wanted; to be stuck in a building with you and a cat, and with nothing to do."

"Really! Gosh, I didn't know that!"

Vegeta looked even more ticked off than usual, "I was being sarcastic, Kakarot."

"Oh," Goku rubbed Luna gently under her chin as she purred. Then he thought of something, "Hey, Vegeta, does Meta sound like a Sayin name for a girl?"

Vegeta cocked an eyebrow, "I suppose it could, why?"

"No real reason," Goku said casually as he smoothed Luna's semi-dry fur.

Vegeta looked away, as though the wall was more interesting than Goku, "You're going to name that cat, aren't you? And you wanted to give it a Sayin name, right?"

Both Goku and Luna were surprised, "How'd you know?"

"For starters, you really like that thing, and she's the same cat that was here two nights ago. Another thing; you don't think she belongs to anyone, so you want to keep her."

Goku's eyebrows were raised in surprise, "Wow, you're pretty observant."

Vegeta only scowled, "Humph."

***

At Sailor Moon's house, Sailor Moon was listening intently to her battery powered radio, waiting anxiously for some good news.

"Due to last night's thunderstorm and the severe power outages caused by it, schools will not be holding classes today."

"Yes!!"

Serena threw her arms up in the air triumphantly, "All right! School's out, whoo-hoo!" She danced around her bedroom, "Do you hear that, Luna? School's out! That means that you and I can spend the whole day together!"

Serena giggled as turned off her radio. She became worried when she didn't get a response.

"Luna, did you hear me? Luna?"

She looked around her room, then headed downstairs, "Luna," she called, "Luna, where are you? Come out this instant, you silly cat!"

Serena ran into the rest of her family in the kitchen.

"Hey, have any of you seen Luna lately? I can't find her!"

"No, I haven't seen her," Serena's Moon said. "Are you sure she's not in your room?"

"I'm positive! I can't find her anywhere!" Serena placed her fists under her chin in exaggerated worry, "What if she's outside! What if she got caught in that storm last night!"

Sailor Moon began to play different scenarios in her head of what might have happened to Luna. She imagined Luna huddled under some garbage as the storm raged on, then she thought of the cat running away from the thunder and getting lost in the city. Finally, she imagined the worst; Luna was being swept down a storm drain and was now stuck in a torrent of water and garbage in the sewers. "This can't be happening! Mom, Dad, I'm going to look for Luna!" Sailor Moon snatched a raincoat from the closet and grabbed an umbrella on her way out. "I'll come back when I find her!

Her mom tried to stop her, "Serena, dear, wait!"

"No time, Mom! I'm on a mission!" Serena breathed quickly as she pulled her boots on. "See you later!"

Sailor Moon hopped outside, yanking her coat on in the process. She flipped her hood up and buttoned her raincoat while she walked down the sidewalk, water everywhere. Sailor Moon opened her umbrella and started calling for Luna.

"Luna! Luna, come here! Where are you?" Sailor Moon was almost crying. "Oh, please be okay! I know! I'll go to Amy's place, maybe Luna's over there!"

With that, Sailor Moon trudged off. She checked down every all and in every tree on her way to Mercury's house, but to no avail. She rang the doorbell when she got there, and Mercury's mother answered.

"Oh, hello Serena. Amy's in her room right now."

"Thank you very much, I hope I'm not disturbing you any."

"No, you're not any trouble at all! I just don't believe you came out in this storm to visit Amy."

Serena explained her reasons as she removed her wet apparel, "Well I was worried a little about Amy, and I can't seem to find Luna, so I decided to do two things at once. By coming here, I can check up on Amy and look for Luna.

"I can see your logic, but your cat isn't here. I'm sorry. You can still say hi to Amy, though."

Sailor Moon was disappointed that Luna wasn't here, but she still wanted to see Amy, "Thank you."

Sailor Moon entered Mercury's room, closing the door behind her. Mercury was sitting oh her bed with her left leg folded beneath her right leg, and books were scattered around her. Mercury's injured leg was wrapped with some type of bandage, with white gauze covering it. The actual leg was semi bent at the knee and half laying on its side.

"Hi, Amy,"

"Serena, hello!" Amy put her flashlight down. "What a surprise! Did you come all the way through this storm just to visit me?"

Sailor Moon stood next to Amy's bed, "Well, sorta. You see, Luna's missing, and I figured that she might have come here, so I thought that I'd see you in the process."

"That's sweet of you," Sailor Mercury moved her books around. "Here, sit down. Now, tell me all about Luna."

"There really isn't that much to tell. Last night, I thought Luna was in my room with me when I fell asleep. This morning, she was gone," Sailor Moon leaned closer to Mercury in worry. "It's not like Luna to just up and leave like this! What if something really bad happened?"

Mercury put a hand on Sailor Moon's shoulder. "Relax, I'm sure Luna's fine. She probably went to learn more about Mr. Goku, and just got trapped somewhere by the storm. She'll be fine."

"I hope you're right. Without Luna, we wouldn't be able to find the Nega-verse's minions, and millions of people could end up dying as a result of un-eliminated Heart Snatchers."

"Serena, don't be so negative. Like I said, Luna is fine. I wouldn't be too surprised if Mr. Goku was looking after her this instant."

Sailor Moon looked at the floor, "I know Luna can take care of herself, but I'm just worried that she might have gotten lost in that storm."

Sailor Mercury took her hand off her friend's shoulder, "Luna's fine. She'll be back home as soon as it stops raining."

"I hope you're right."

***

Luna was chasing a ball of light that Goku created around the floor of the old museum. He and Vegeta were laughing hard as Luna stumbled around.

"_If I can get that ball, I might be able to find out how they make these things! Oof!_" Luna dove for the orb and missed. "_If I can only catch it._"

"Oh! Almost had it, Meta!" Goku teased.

Luna fell down, exhausted and panting, when Goku called the ball of light to his hand, absorbing it back into him through his palm. He let Luna catch her breath a little by putting on his boots before retrieving her.

"As much as I hate cats, I must admit that that was pretty funny," Vegeta said rather sheepishly.

Goku cradled the breathless Luna in his arm, "See, cats aren't that bad, you have to admit it."

Vegeta grumbled something that Goku couldn't make out, then changed the subject, "It's stopped raining now; we should get to work."

Goku went back to the stairway and set Luna down on one of the steps. He yanked on his damp weighted shirt, then threw on his orange one.

"You know what they say, Vegeta; all work and no play makes one a dull boy."

Vegeta scoffed at the idea, "That's just something some kids made up." He started for the door, "Let's get going. The sooner we find this thing the sooner we can go home."

Goku picked Luna up and put her on his shoulder, "You're right about that." He followed Vegeta.

Once they got outside, Vegeta outlined his simple game plan, "Goku, you can head that way, into the city, and I'll go this way, towards the houses."

"Oh sure, give me the hard job." "Actually, I'm taking the harder route. On a day like today," he motioned to the clouded sky, "most people will be staying at home. Judging by the lack of power, I'd say that many stores will be closed, leaving people stuck at their homes.

Goku could only stare wide-eyed at Vegeta. Vegeta, on the other hand, stalked off.

"Well, there's no arguing with the facts," Goku said absently to Luna. "Let's go, Meta. We've got work to do."

Luna was too wrapped up in her own thoughts to notice that Goku was talking to her, "_I thought Goku was in charge here, but now I'm not so sure. Vegeta's pretty bossy when he wants to be. Maybe I've got this all wrong, maybe neither of them are in charge, after all, they did call themselves partners, not leaders or followers. Oh well, I'm sure I'll figure it out later._" 


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10 Goku walked along the sidewalk for a while, then crossed the street. Practically all of the stores were closed, and those that were open had no customers inside. An elderly man wearing a brown trench coat who was walking his dog passed Goku and Luna. The dog, a brown mutt that barely came up to Goku's knees, started barking at the black cat. She held her ground and kept quiet as the man tried to calm his dog.

"Cookies, calm down. No Cookies! Heel!"

Cookies seemed to obey, but when his master took a step forward, he longed at Luna. Luna knew she was safe on Goku's shoulder, so she didn't move far. The elderly man, on the other hand, lost his balance and fell, letting go of the leash. Cookies used this opportunity to jump at Goku, barking all the way at Luna.

"_This is getting out of control!_" Luna thought frantically to herself. "_I'm getting out of here_!" She catapulted herself off Goku's shoulder and hit the ground running.

"Meta, wait!" Goku called over his shoulder.

Cookies tried to chase Luna down, but Goku slammed his boot over the dog's leash. Cookies yiped when he ran out of slack, and his owner started to get up. Goku bent down to pick up the leash for the man as Cookies continued barking in the direction that Luna had run.

"Are you okay, sir?" Goku asked the man.

"Yes, Yes, I'm fine. Nothing's broken," The man smiled at his own joke. "And you?"

"Oh, I'm okay, it's my cat that I'm worried about," Goku glanced down the street, then turned back to the man. "Here's your dog."

Goku extended his hand with the leash, letting the man take it from him. Cookies had stopped barking.

"Thank you, young man, and I'm terribly sorry about your cat. Cookies just gets exited about certain things and I can't always control him, especially on a day like today when the sidewalk is all wet. Listen, I'm really sorry it all."

Goku shrugged, "Don't worry about it, no one was hurt. Now, if you'd excuse me, I have to find my cat."

"Sure, I don't mind. By the way, what's your name?"

"Uh, mine?" The question came as a surprise to Goku, "Goku, my name is Goku, and my cat's name is Meta."

"Goku, that's an interesting name. And your cat is Metra?"

"No, just Meta, without the 'R.' "

The man nodded, "I see, interesting. Anyway, I'm sorry about what happened."

"Don't worry about it. See ya 'round."

Goku waved over his shoulder to the elderly gentleman and jogged off after Luna. He turned the corner and slowed to a walk when he saw someone else walking on the sidewalk. Because he had momentarily forgotten to "work," and because of the fat gray clouds that blocked out the sunlight, Goku didn't notice that the young lady was Rae until he was almost passing her. She wasn't even paying attention.

Goku halted suddenly and addressed her, "Rae, is that you?"

Rae stopped with a jolt and spun to face Goku, "Goku? Goku! How nice to see you!"

"Hey! What brings you out on a day like today?"

Rae fidgeted, drawing her coat closed, "Well, there was nothing to do at my house, and I was a little worried about Amy, so I decided to come and see her when the rain had stopped. By the way, what are you doing out?"

"Work," Goku chuckled, "what else?"

Rae blushed, "Oh, right, I should have known. Silly me." She turned to leave, "Care to walk with me?"

Goku quickly looked down the street where he thought Luna had gone, then turned to Mars, "Sure, things are pretty slow to day, if you know what I mean."

"I do," Rae started walking with Goku flanking her, "Say, how exactly do you work? You don't actually remove the Heart Crystals to check them, do you?"

"No, no. Vegeta and I can sense other people's energies by channeling our own. In this case, we not only have to find the Red Heart Crystal's energy, but we have to 'dive,' in a sense, past the body's aura to find it. It takes a lot of time, and that's going to be our downfall if Garlic Junior gets here before we find it."

Rae was staring at Goku, "And what are you going to do with the Red Heart Crystal once you find it?"

"Bring it to Dende`, like I told you yesterday."

"Let me say that again," She rephrased. "Are you going to bring the actually Crystal to Dende`, or are you going to take the person with the Crystal in his/her heart to Dende`?"

"I . . . I'm not sure," Goku confessed, but didn't say anything else.

Rae decided to let it drop and picked a new subject along a similar subject line.

"Mr. Goku?"

He turned his head, "Yes?"

"Do I have the Red Heart Crystal?"

"No, luckily for you."

"What about Amy and Serena? Do they have it?"

"Nope."

Rae sighed with relief, "What about Darien?"

"He doesn't have it, either."

Rae pondered this information for a moment, "Man, you guys sure have your work cut out for you; I don't think I know of anyone with purer hearts that those three."

"I didn't say we were looking for pure hearts," Goku's fixed his gaze straight ahead, though he knew Mars was watching him. "The Red Heart Crystal is just that: Red. It's powers differ from pure hearts, which makes it even more important, and more difficult to find."

She could tell that Goku was serious, but she still had questions, "What's so important about this one crystal, anyway? I mean, what's the big deal?"

"The 'big deal' is that Garlic can absorb the crystal and feed off of its energy, making himself stronger," a hint of a smile crept onto his features, "to tell the truth, it might actually be fun if Garlic absorbed it."

Rae wasn't sure if she wanted to know what Goku was talking about; luckily for her, they had arrived at Amy's house.

"Here it is. I guess I should say good-bye for now," Rae stopped to face Goku, clasping her hands in front of her.

Goku had other plans, "You could, but I'd like to say hi to Amy, too."

"Really? What are you going to tell her parents?"

Goku shrugged as though it was no big deal, "The truth, or a fraction of it, anyway. I'm going to say that I helped her up after her fall."

Rae smiled, "Smart."

She knocked on the door, with Goku at her side. Amy's dad answered the door. "Hello?" He turned his gaze to Rae, "Oh, Rae, did you come to see Amy?"

Rae bowed respectfully, "Yes, so did Mr. Goku."

"Who?"

Goku followed her example, yet he folded one arm behind his back and the other in front of him, "Hello, I'm Goku, and Rae has informed me that it was your daughter that I helped after her terrible fall. I only came with to see how she is doing."

Amy's dad stepped aside from the doorway, "Oh, yes, I remember now. Amy told me about how nice you had been to her. Come in, come in, both of you." Rae and Goku stepped inside. "Rae can lead you to Amy's room, Mr. Goku."

The two went to Amy's room and found that Serena, too, was there.

"Hey, Rae! Nice to see you!" Amy greeted Rae. "Mr. Goku . . ? Wh-what brings you here?"

"Well, I ran into Rae here, and she said that she was going to see you, and she asked if I could spare the time to see you, so I did," Goku responded meekly.

Serena butted into the conversation, "That was sweet of you."

Rae moved to the side of the bed. Goku followed, but didn't stand too close to the girls.

"So, Amy, how's your leg? Is it feeling any better?" Rae asked.

"A little. The doctor says that I should be well again in a week or two. Ugh! I can't believe I'm going to have this on for the next two weeks!" Mercury motioned to her bandage.

Rae attempted to cheer her friend up, "Don't worry about it. I'm willing to help you in any way possible, so if there's anything you need, you can count on me!" she tapped her thumb to her chest for emphasis.

"Me too!" Serena mimicked her friend's action.

Amy almost blushed, "Aw, thanks guys." Then, she changed the subject, "Mr. Goku, Rae, have either of you seen Luna lately?"

"No, I haven't," Rae shook her head slightly.

"Who's Luna?"

Serena decided to cover this answer, "She's . . . my cat. Luna's my cat, and she's been missing since last night, and I'm afraid that something bad could have happened to her in that storm."

Goku raised his eyebrows, "Well, what does she look like?"

"That's right, you haven't seen her. Anyway, she's black," Serena waved her hands palms-down in a motion of totality and finality, "completely black, exept for a moon-shaped mark on her forehead."

The corners of Goku's mouth pulled back, "Hmm, I may have seen her."

"Really?!" Serena stood up with excitement, "Shall we go now?"

"Sure, unless there's something else you guys want to talk about," Goku looked to Rae and Amy.

"No, I don't think so; besides, finding Luna is probably more important than anything we might have to say right now," Rae reasoned.

"Right," Amy nodded. "And I can always use Rae to keep me informed."

Goku stood up straighter and placed his hands on his hips, "Okay, then, we can get going," he turned to Serena. "Ready?"

"You bet!" She grabbed Goku's arm and attempted to pull him out the door with no success, "C'mon, what're you waiting for?"

Softly, but firmly, Goku responded, "I'm waiting for you to let go of me."

Serena blinked a few times at Goku's remark. Then, she dropped his arm and put one arm behind her back and the other hand over her mouth, "Oops! Sorry, I guess I just got a little excited!"

"That's okay. Come on," Goku lead the way.

After they had left, Rae commented to Amy, "That Goku is one heck of a guy."

Eventually, Goku and Serena made it to the road where he had run into Cookies, and by this time, the clouds were breaking up to reveal an early evening sun. Goku explained that the cat he called Meta could really be Luna, and how the dog had scared her off his shoulder and down the street.

"Luna!" Serena shouted as she walked along the sidewalk. "Luna, where are you? Come out here!"

Goku decided to use a gentler method, "Here kitty-kitty-kitty. Here Meta. Come here kitty."

Luna, who had heard and recognized Serena's voice, came running to her. With a mighty jump, the cat threw herself into Serena's arms.

Serena shrieked with joy, "Luna! There you are! Oh, Luna, I thought that something really awful had happened to you!" She held her out at arm's length, "What were you doing out last night in the middle of that storm? Shame on you!"

Goku came up and ruffled Luna's hair, causing it to stand on end, "Silly kitty." He plucked Luna from Serena's hands and addressed her, "Relax, she was fine. I took good care of her."

"That's what Amy said," Serena mumbled a little too loud.

"What?" Goku asked while handing Luna back.

Serena blushed and tried to hide behind Luna, "Nothing, I'm just thanking Amy." Luna's eyes were tiny dots behind her half closed eyelids when Sailor Moon lowered her away from her face. "Amy said that someone was probably taking care of her during the storm, and I was just giving her a mental 'thank you,' out loud, for her optimistic attitude."

Goku put his fists on his hips, "That's nice of you to think about your friend for what she's done. Hey, do you want me to walk you home?"

"Sure!" Serena smiled sweetly from ear to ear. "Here, my house is this way." 


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11 Vegeta was just about to pass up another dark-windowed house when he heard his name being called. He turned around just in time to see Rae run after him from the doorway of the house he just walked by.

"Vegeta, please wait!" Mars finally caught up with him, "Thanks."

"For what? It's not like I saved your life or something."

Rae placed her hands in front of her, "I know, but here, we think it's just polite to thank someone for waiting. We also think it polite of a man to escort a lady home."

Vegeta raised an eyebrow, "You're point?"

"Would you walk me home? It is getting late, and I don't want anyone robbing me on my way home."

Vegeta rolled his eyes, "Aye aye aye! You sound just like Bulma. Which way is your house?"

Rae wasn't expecting this answer, "You mean you'll really walk me home?"

He shrugged, "Well, I've got nothing else to do."

Rae's eyes were wide with surprise; she was still shocked that Vegeta would agree to walk her home. "It's . . . down that street a ways," she pointed to a crossroad ahead.

Vegeta didn't seem to happy, "All right then, let's go."

She finally came-to, "Oh, right," she smiled, "let's go!"

"Sheesh."

With that, Vegeta and Rae walked up to the crossing and then down the street. The road they walked passed through the city, with both sides bordered with shops. They didn't talk at all until they were well into town.

"So, did you find the Red Heart Crystal yet?" Rae tried to strike up a conversation.

Vegeta was in no mood to talk, "Why would you care?"

"Well, I don't want the world to be filled with evil by this 'Garlic Junior' character," She turned her head to look at Vegeta, "Well, did you find it?"

"Kakarot talks to much," Vegeta mumbled to himself.

Vegeta had barely finished his remark when he slammed on the breaks. Rae had to turn around in order to keep watching him. When she did, she saw a look of pure terror on his face.

"Vegeta," She went back to him, "what's wrong?"

Behind her, in the direction Vegeta was facing, a masculine voice made the hair on her neck rise, "What's wrong indeed, Vegeta?"

Rae turned around at the same time Vegeta came to his senses and took on an aggressive face. She inhaled sharply at the sight before her; five men were standing a good distance ahead of them, with the shortest one in front and the tallest two in back. One of them was about as tall as Darien, but much more muscular and with blonde hair. The other one in the back was bald, blue, and had four arms folded in pairs over his massive, bare blue chest. In front of them was another human with blonde hair, except he stood with his hands behind his back and wasn't quite as big as the other human, and a red-furred creature-man with evil red cat eyes flexed his claws, anxious to fight. But the one person who scared Vegeta the most was the pint-sized green kid in the front; Garlic Junior.

Garlic chuckled, "Don't tell me you've never seen the true master of the world before! Such a pity."

Vegeta never took his eyes off Garlic, "Rae, get out of here."

"But, I can't . . ."

"Just go!" Vegeta's voice left no room for argument. Then, softer, as though he didn't want to say it, he added, "Get Goku."

Rae turned around and ran. She wasn't sure where she was going, only that she needed to find Goku. First, she ducked down an alley to find out what was going on.

"Well well well, friend,"Garlic laughed. "It seems that you're on your own now. I know! I'll make it a fair fight!" He threw his head back and cackled. Grins spread across the faces of his men. "Two on one, right boys? Chris, Sushi, take care of him."

The blue, four-armed freak uncrossed his arms and stepped forward, "Yes, my Lord."

"With pleasure, Boss," the larger human licked his lips.

Rae nearly panicked; each of them was twice, if not three times, Vegeta's size, and both looked more than capable of pounding him into powder. Vegeta, on the other hand, was more pissed off than ever as the pair neared.

"So, you really have to stoop this low to beat me?" Vegeta menaced,then laughed, "I'm surprised, Garlic, you usually gather much better fighters than this."

Rae's eyes went wide. Garlic Junior was here, now? Things were starting to look bad.

The blue man moved to block Vegeta's view of Garlic, "Lord Garlic doesn't need to hear your taunts, Fool."

"Nor does he need to hear the breaking of you bones," the human halted, waiting for the blue man to start the battle, "but I think he will make an exception for one as arrogant as you."

Vegeta was ready when the four-armed freak rushed him. Crossing his arms over his face, he blocked a double left hook, unfortunately, that left him open for the double uppercut into his gut. His eyes bulged as he clutched his stomach and fell to his knees.

"Now, Sushi, that wasn't nice," the human laughed uncontrollably. "You should have let him retaliate before slugging him like that."

Sushi shrugged while Vegeta attempted to stand back up, "Hey, that's how I fight. If you want to give it a shot, Chris, go ahead."

Chris smiled, "Sure, if you don't mind letting me have all the fun."

Sushi didn't have time to answer; Vegeta power punched him across the face, flooring the blue brute. He then turned on Chris with terrifying force. Glowing with his power, Vegeta unleashed blow after blow on the human, making him double over with blows to the stomach, then straightening him back up with hits to the face. Rae was frightened by her few friend's ferocity so much that she became paralyzed. She couldn't move, couldn't think, and worse, couldn't get Goku for help.

Vegeta sent Chris flying past her with a power fist to his face just as Sushi recovered enough to attack. Rae watched in horror as Chris skidded along the asphalt, stopping in a heap on the ground; she thought for sure that he was dead. Sushi used his shoulder to ram Vegeta, who quickly altered his course mid-air by placing a hand to the ground and flipping to land on his feet.

With a shout, Vegeta sprang back at him. Swinging his fist, he made hard contact with Sushi's cheekbone, sending the monster staggering backwards. Vegeta began pummeling him, hitting and kicking him whenever his own body would allow it. Unfortunately, Sushi turned the tables on the Prince of Sayins.

Using his top pair of arms, Sushi intercepted a kick and punch, holding Vegeta by the ankle and wrist; Vegeta was stunned. Sushi wasted no time and hammered Vegeta in the stomach again, crippling him before tossing him to the ground. Vegeta groaned in agony as Sushi rolled his top right arm in its socket.

"Hey, you're not that bad," Sushi said to the downed Vegeta. "I think you hurt my arm with that last attack," he flexed his right upper arm, "but I could be mistaken."

Chris groaned and stood up, catching Rae's attention, "_What!? He's still alive?! There's no way he could have survived that!_"

The large man jogged back while Vegeta tried again to pummel Sushi, but this time Sushi blocked and dodged all of Vegeta's punches. With a grunt, Sushi grabbed Vegeta's left arm and twisted it behind his back, forcing Vegeta to cry out in pain. With his other upper arm, Sushi clamped Vegeta's mouth shut, and wrapped his two lower arms around Vegeta's waist.

"Have all the fun indeed," Sushi taunted Chris. "I'm sorry, but I didn't know getting pulverized into asphalt was fun. I guess I need to catch up on the times," he laughed.

Chris grinned slyly as he pushed a few strands of hair off his face, "Heh, neither did I." He turned to Garlic, "Hey, Boss! This guy's a real tiger; you still want us to kill him?"

Garlic Junior drew his small cape closer around him, "Hmm, I guess, but go ahead and toy with the fellow first."

Rae gasped, and Sushi bared his jagged teeth in delight, "Thank you, my Lord."

"You're the greatest, Boss." Chris turned back to Vegeta, "Now, my friend, I do believe it's my turn." he glanced at Sushi with a wicked grin on his face, "Will you take the honors of keeping this tiger de-clawed?"

Vegeta tried to mumble something, but Rae couldn't hear him from where she was.

"_I have to do something!_" she thought frantically. "_Oh man, Vegeta's going to get killed! What should I do?_"

Sushi rearranged his grip on Vegeta such that he held both of Vegeta's arms yet still kept a hand over his mouth. That left his lower left arm free. In the shadows, Rae transformed into her Scout outfit.

"Well well well, where to start, eh, Vegeta?" Chris joked to Vegeta. "How about, HERE!"

Chris slammed his fist into Vegeta's diaphragm, just below his breast bone. Vegeta couldn't breathe, and it didn't help that Sushi was holding his mouth closed. His vision started to swim and black over before he could start breathing again, but Chris didn't give him time to catch his breath. Chris punched him across the face, fracturing his cheekbone.

"Hey! Be careful, you almost got me!" Sushi complained to his human friend.

"I know what I'm doing!" Chris snapped back before planting a knuckle sandwich in Vegeta's stomach.

Small groans managed to sift through Sushi's hand and reach Mars's ears.

"I can't take it anymore!!" Sailor Mars sprung out of the alley and pointed a menacing finger at Chris and Sushi, "You leave him alone!"

Everyone's attention was on the suicidal girl in red, but Garlic was the first to speak, "And who exactly are you?"

"I am Sailor Mars," she placed her fists on her hips, "and I will make you pay for the evil you have done!"

Garlic and his gang were silent for a few seconds, then they all burst into laughter, except for the red cat-eyed freak. Mars was surprised at first, but quickly became annoyed, causing a sweatdrop to appear on her head.

Chris was holding his sides and could barely stay standing when Sushi added salt to the wound, "Is that supposed to be a threat, little girl? Ha-ha-ha! What're you gonna do, spank us? Run on home before you hurt yourself!" He fell into uncontrollable laughter, unable to say more. 


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12 Vegeta sized this opportunity and used it to his advantage. With a mighty heave, he freed first his right arm, then his left form Sushi's hold. Sushi struggled as he tried to get Vegeta back under control. Vegeta's left arm became immobile once again, but with his right arm he was able to blast Chris away with a power beam. The human didn't even see it coming, and went to the next dimension before he even knew what his hit him.

With his mouth now free, Vegeta was able to shout his demands, "Sailor Mars, get away from here! You don't stand a chance against these guys!"

Mars fisted her hand at Sushi and the struggling Vegeta, "I'm not leaving you here to be killed by these monsters!"

Vegeta had somehow managed to gain the upper hand on the four-armed colossus and was able to kick him in the stomach with his heel. Sushi stalled for barely a second, which was just enough time for Vegeta to zip away from danger and stand in front of Mars.

"Vegeta, are you okay?" Mars put a comforting hand on his shoulder.

Vegeta shrugged it off.

"I'm fine!" he hissed at her. "You should have left when you had the chance! Now they'll kill us both! Uh!" Vegeta clamped a hand to his left side in pain.

"You're hurt!" Mars wanted so badly to help, "What's . . ."

"Go!"

Sushi comforted his stomach as Sailor Mars hardened her resolve, "Not until you tell me what's wrong and how I can help!"

Vegeta had been holding his breath and let it out in a whoosh. He was loosing his patience, "Just like Bulma! Fine! I think they ruptured something internally, and you can help by finding Goku!"

Mars wasn't sure what to do with her hands, but she really wanted to help, "You need to go to the hospital! You could die if you keep fighting like this!" she stepped closer.

Vegeta shoved her back, "So be it! Now go!"

"But Vegeta!"

"_Go!_"

Sailor Mars had no other options; she knew she couldn't fight these guys, but she had to do something to help Vegeta. She turned and ran, frantically thinking of a way to help her friend. Meanwhile, Vegeta and Sushi kept their eyes locked on one another.

"You killed my friend," Sushi wasn't smiling. "You just killed my best friend Chris!! I'm going to make you pay!!"

Sushi seemed to rear back while he powered up. He threw his upper arms above his head and his bottom pair out to his sides. With a loud shout, he brought all four of his wrists together, joining them at a center point, and fired a gigantic power beam. Vegeta knew he couldn't just dodge the attack, or innocent people might die, so he attempted to counter it. As quickly as he could, Vegeta gathered energy to his hands and was able to fire off a beam just in time to intercept Sushi's power blast. He knew his puny blast didn't stand a chance, but he tried anyway. Vegeta pumped as much energy as he could into his beam in desperation, but it still wasn't enough. Sushi's blast hit Vegeta like a locomotive, blowing him backward. Sailor Mars screamed and dove to the ground to escape the blast. Vegeta hit the pavement shoulders first and half rolled, half flipped over to eventually land face first in the middle of the road. Mars gasped in horror as she moved to get up.

"Vegeta!" Mars ran to him.

Vegeta could only groan in agony while he tried to rise, shakily moving one arm to lever himself up.

Mars dropped down beside him, "Vegeta, we have to get out of here!"

Vegeta managed to get one leg under him, "Go! You can't stay here!"

Sailor Mars put her hand on Vegeta's arm; however, he was too weak to push her away. She noticed a piece of bone protruding through a bleeding gash just above Vegeta's cheek.

"Oh my gosh! You've been wounded!" Mars raised her hand to his injury, but didn't touch it.

Vegeta turned his face away, "I'm fine!" At that moment, he coughed, and red blood bubbled up through his lips, dribbling to the ground.

Mars initially drew back in horror, but then placed a concerned hand back on his shoulder, "No, you're not fine. You need to get to a hospital."

He shook his head slowly while he swallowed back something that Mars didn't even want to know about, "I can't go. If I do, who will hold them off? No, I can't," Vegeta paused to compose himself. "Run.'

"What?"

"Run, get away from here while you still can. Find Goku and tell him that Garlic is here."

"Vegeta, I can't leave you here to die! I just can't do it!" Sailor Mars was on the verge of tears.

Vegeta stared at Mars; his eyes had the misted look of a man about to die, "You can! You have to! Sailor Mars, I'm begging you; please save yourself. If you don't get Goku, millions of people could die by this man's hands. Already, I may have saved hundreds of lives by destroying that one man, and who knows how many more can be saved if they all are stopped. Please, Mars, you have to do this! If not for me, then do it for the untold thousands that can be saved if these evil men aren't stopped."

Vegeta stopped to coughed up more blood and to make sure Sushi would give him time to finish.

"You must go. Mars, if I am to die, let me die with honor."

Sailor Mars could hardly believe that such a cross man could be speaking such noble words from the bottom of his heart. She couldn't keep the the tears back, nor could she suppress the urge to hug Vegeta.

Vegeta winced in pain when Mars threw her arms around him.

"Oh, Vegeta, I didn't know!"

"Just go and find Goku." Vegeta weakly pushed Mars away from him. "Go."

Sailor Mars nodded, too overwhelmed with grief to speak. She stood, and with a hateful glare at Sushi, ran as fast as she could to find Goku. Running seemed to ease the pain, but not by much.

"_I'm glad that I had the chance to know you, Vegeta,_" Mars thought as she ran, tears blurring her vision.

Back at the battle ground, Vegeta, by the power of his will alone, stood up. Sushi didn't seem impressed.

"Finally! I thought you would never shut up," Sushi uncrossed his arms. "Shall we continue?"

Vegeta was barely able to stand, much less defend himself, but he didn't give up.

"You know, Vegeta," Garlic piped in, "we now have an opening in my team. You have proven yourself to be a valiant fighter, so I'm giving you the option to join me. Do you accept?"

"Never!"

Garlic Junior raised an eyebrow, "Are you sure? I'll give you one last chance."

Vegeta said absolutely nothing, but gave Garlic his final decision by spitting blood in his direction.

Garlic shrugged, "Oh well. Sushi?"

"I'm already on it, my Lord," Sushi grinned wickedly as he approached Vegeta. "You're all washed up, soldier."

Vegeta scowled at Sushi, but could do nothing else to defend himself. Sushi cocked his arm back and smashed his fist down into Vegeta's face, his injured side. Vegeta flew a good two meters to the side, yet he said nothing. He coughed again, but this time there wasn't as much blood as before. Sushi sauntered over to where Vegeta was attempting to get up, an pulled him up by the hair.

"Why don't you just stay down? I might think you were dead and leave you alone," Sushi broke into uncontrollable laughter.

Sushi regained control of himself and threw Vegeta to the ground, causing the asphalt to crack. Sushi granted no quarter to Vegeta, and kicked him repeatedly. Vegeta could only groan in pain until Sushi let up.

"You're no match for me any more," Sushi raised his lower right arm, and called forth a ball of energy. "Why don't I just end this little game right now, hmm?"

"_I've got to do something; it's now or never!_"

Even Vegeta didn't know where he got his strength from, but somehow he was in the air and leaping for Sushi. His sudden attack surprised the four-armed giant, and he was able to land a powerful hit to Sushi's jaw. Sushi staggered back a pace while Vegeta was barely able to stay on his feet.

"Bastard!!" Sushi swung both of his right fists, striking Vegeta with a double power-punch. Vegeta went flying, creating a rut in the road when he was no longer airborne and forcing Garlic and his other two henchmen to fly up in order to escape being bowled over. Sushi pushed off the ground with one foot and glided over the ground after Vegeta. When he reached his ailing opponent, Sushi planted a boot firmly on the center of his chest.

"Well, now, it looks like the lion has finally been de-throned," Sushi smiled as he pressed down with his foot. "It's been fun . . . " he put more pressure on Vegeta, making him cry out as his ribs began popping, "but I've had quite enough." Sushi pressed harder, forcing more ribs to break.

In the sky, the red cat approached Garlic, "Masster Garrlic, do you thhink that he will learrn his lessson better with a sslow death?"

Garlic thought for a moment, "I think you're right." Then, he shouted over Vegeta's cries, "Sushi, enough!"

Sushi released the pressure on Vegeta, halting the wails, "What?"

"You heard me. This man is quite a fighter, and I want him to die slowly. I don't want to give him the satisfaction of dying with 'honor,' " Garlic mocked.

"But, my Lord," Sushi removed his foot from Vegeta to face the floating Garlic, "what about Chris?! Shouldn't he pay for what he's done?"

Garlic Junior closed his eyes with confidence, "I assure you, he will get what's coming to him. It will just take a little longer," he opened his eyes and smiled deviously at Sushi, "and hurt him a lot more."

Garlic started laughing, and the human and Sushi joined in. The red cat-man didn't even crack a smile.

As soon as Garlic could stop, he addressed his men, "Let's go. We have a Heart Crystal to find."

With that, they took off, Garlic Junior in the lead and Sushi bringing up the rear, leaving Vegeta to die.

"_I guess this is it._," Vegeta thought to himself. "_It's not how I planned it. What am I saying? I can't die. What about Bulma, and Trunks? If I die now, Trunks will think that his father was weak. I, must . . . fight . . . . . ._"

But Vegeta never finished his thought, for he began to slip in and out of unconsciousness again and again. He couldn't tell how much time had passed when he heard voices, two of them. He had no idea what they were saying, but the people did. There were three people, in fact, two men and a girl, who had stumbled upon him.

The man wearing the red shirt spoke first, "Sir, sir, can you hear me?"

The girl stayed behind his legs, "Is he, dead?"

"I don't know."

The older man who was holding the leash to a brown mutt knelt beside Vegeta, "He's breathing! He must be alive!" He turned to the man in red, "Derrick, call the hospital, this man needs help!"

Vegeta tensed his muscles to get up, but it accomplished nothing except to scare the little girl. He attempted to speak; yet only managed to gurgle through the blood in his mouth. Some of the liquid oozed out of the corners of his mouth and trickled down his face, adding to the blood from his broken cheekbone.

Derrick had pulled out his cellular phone and was now waiting to connect with the 911 operator.

"Will he be okay, Uncle Jake?" the girl asked the man with the dog.

"I don't know, Jennifer; I honestly don't know," Jake said as he rose to his feet.

"Hello?" Derrick finally connected to the 911 operator. "I need an ambulance; there's this guy here, and he's hurt really badly . . . " 


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13 Goku, Serena, and Luna just arrived back at Serena's house when Sailor Rae, not in her Scout outfit, came running to them, panting and out of breath.

"Rae, what's the matter?" Serena asked with concern.

Rae didn't seem to notice Serena, and simply started ranting her story to Goku, "Goku! Oh, Goku, Vegeta's in trouble! Garlic Junior came and two of these really big guys started fighting him! Ugh, it was awful! Vegeta sent me to get you, but I don't think he can hold them off any longer! Oh, please! You have to help him; hurry, please!" she started pulling at Goku's shirt.

"Whoa! Hey, slow down!" Goku placed one hand on either of her shoulders, "Now, what did you say?"

She started crying, "Please hurry! Vegeta's trying to hold off this really big guy! He's in really big trouble, and he says that Garlic Junior is here! Please, Goku, you have to help him!"

"Where is Vegeta?" Goku's face had a steel hard cast. His hands fell away from her shoulders as she turned and pointed. "Take me there."

Serena felt lost, "Hey! Wait for me; I'm coming too!" She started to follow Goku and Rae as they walked away.

"No, Serena," Goku left no room for argument. "Where we're going will be no place for a lady."

"But Rae's going!" She fisted her hands at her side.

Goku had nothing else to say, but Luna did, "Serena, relax. I'll follow them if you want."

"No, that's okay," Serena calmed down. "I'm sure that Rae will tell us what happens."

Luna turned her head to watch Goku and Rae walk away, "You're right, but I want to see what happens myself," Luna was about to jump off Serena's shoulder.

Serena intercepted her, "Oh no you're not! Especially not after what happened last night!" she held on to Luna as the cat tried to escape.

"Serena!! Let go of me this instant!" Luna flailed her arms and legs.

"No! You don't need to chase down Goku wherever he goes!" She struggled to get Luna inside her house.

"Put me down! Put me down!"

"No!" She finally got in the house and slammed the door behind her. "Whew!"

Luna forced her way out of Serena's arms and on to the floor, "What are you doing?! How dare you lock me inside!"

"What I'm doing is- " Sailor Moon cut off her sentence as her mother appeared in the entryway..

"Who are you talking to?"

"No one."

"Oh-okay," her mother turned and walked off.

Luna was angry, "Let's get to your room, where we won't be disturbed, and talk this over."

***

Rae was fatigued by the time she and Goku reached the battlefield, and was shocked to find that the police had taped off that section of the street. Detectives were using flashlights and battery powered lamps to search for clues in the dying light of the evening. Three people were being questioned by officers outside of the taped area.

Two policemen advanced on Goku and Rae, attempting to turn them away.

"Excuse me, but this is an official crime scene," the first officer explained. "No one is allowed in unless you are authorized."

Rae furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.

Goku clenched his fists, "Officer, what happened here?"

The second policeman spoke up, "We aren't positive, but I'm sure you can catch it all on the news tomorrow."

"Was anyone killed?" Rae could barely keep her voice steady.

"No," the first officer answered, "now will you please leave? We have and investigation to carry out, and we don't need gawking onlookers."

"Officer," Goku said patiently, "I have reason to believe that a friend of mine was involved in this," he flicked his eyes up to indicate the torn-up street.

The policemen looked at one another, and the first one moved away to the officers questioning the three people. Goku looked more angry than Rae had ever seen him when the officer returned with a female detective.

The lady was wearing a blue skirt with a matching vest over a white blouse, and had tanned skin, most likely from a day or two at the beach. She spoke upon reaching them, "Officer Bradley says that you have information on this bizarre incident."

"Possibly," Goku answered grimly.

Sailor Mars nodded, all color drained from her face.

The detective pulled out a pen and a notebook, "What are your names?"

They each responded with their own.

She scribbled the names on a blank page, "Tell me, what's the name of your friend that may have bee involved?"

"Vegeta," Goku scrutinized the detective.

"Does he have a last name?"

Goku thought for a moment, "Briefs."

The detective was surprised with his hesitation, but she continued the questioning, "All right, what can you tell me? Did you see the attack?"

"I didn't," Goku was dead serious, "but she did."

This was a lucky break for the detective, but she didn't let on as Rae started telling her what happened.

"These five guys appeared, and the shortest person ordered two people to kill us, Vegeta and me, that is, but Vegeta told me to run and that he would hold them off. I was too scared to run, so I hid in one of the alleys," tears started to fall down Sailor Mars's cheeks. "It was awful! One of the men held Vegeta still while the other punched him in the face and stomach-!" she choked up.

The detective calmly encouraged her to continue, "Is there anything else you can tell us at this moment?"

"No, I, ran," Mars lied, hiding the whole story about the power beam.

The woman looked at Goku, but he didn't look back, his eyes were focused on the scene. "Do you have any idea who did this, sir?"

Goku's hands were fisted in anger, "Yes."

Immediately, the detective readied her little notepad, "Who do you think did this?"

Goku ignored her and turned to Rae, "Rae; I have a few things to attend to. I hope you don't mind staying here while I'm gone."

"I don't mind at all," Rae said softly, unsure of what Goku was thinking.

Goku turned to walk away, but the detective tried to stop him, "Sir, if you're going after this man, you're nuts! You should just let the law handle this. Please,sir, come back."

"The law can't handle this," Goku called over his shoulder.

The lady motioned to Officer Bradley and the other policeman when Goku refused to halt, and they started to chase Goku down. Goku stopped and looked up just in time to see a red form drop down on him from above. With a quick motion, Goku threw himself backwards and out of danger just seconds before the red beast crashed claw-first into the ground, shattering the pavement as though it was glass. The crowd gasped, thinking it was some suicidal person. With a mighty heave, the red cat creature yanked its hand free of the pit it created. It stood up, threw its head back, and let out a screeching wail that could only compare to the ear-piercing intensity of nails-on-chalkboard combined with the battle cries of two mountain lions. After it finished, it leveled its gaze at Goku, slitting its red cat-like eyes to get a better view of him.

The creature growled like a dog before speaking in a purring voice that betrayed its true intentions, "Masster Garrlic doess not want any interruptions from you. Leave him be, or you will ssufferr a worrss punishhment than your frriend."

Goku's voice held no hint of weakness, only anger, "Tell Garlic that I am not afraid of him, or any of his minions. Leave now, or I will send you away, to the next dimension!"

The red cat blinked, but didn't move yet. Goku had to crouch in his ready to attack pose and give it a threatening look before it made a move. It turned sideways and looked up the side of the building, then prepared to leap, still focused on the roof of the building. The cat-man paused to glare at an unmoving Goku. It flicked its tail indignantly and leapt, retreating to the top of the building, and extracting gasps of amazement from the police officers. Goku returned himself to a standing position. The long, red hair of the creature swirled around as it spun to glare once more at Goku, its eyes shining with an eerie red light. Then, as son as it appeared, it was gone, back over the rooftops where no one on the ground, not even Goku, could track it.

The detective hurried over to Goku and clapped a handcuff around his wrist while he wasn't paying attention, "You're under arrest for withholding information! Now, since you're in my custody, you will tell me everything you know about this."

Goku lifted his wrist that was cuffed to the detective and gave it an unsatisfactory look. He lifted his other hand to it, and with an unimpressed spitting sound, snapped the band, freeing his hand. The detective's eyes went wide.

"Like I said, the law can't handle this," Goku repeated cryptically as he walked away, leaving the broken handcuff dangling from the detective's wrist. "Rae, take care while I'm gone."

Goku walked off, leaving the police and detectives behind to ponder exactly what he was. Mars, too, was surprised, with the awesome display of courage and determination from her friend. Goku turned a corner, and simply disappeared in the late evening; everyone was dumbfounded, to say the least."

***

Serena rushed frantically around her house, searching for Luna. She happened across her father.

"What are you looking for, dear?"

She paused, bent over the couch to look behind it, "I am looking for Luna, ya mind?"

"Luna's outside."

Serena fell over, then stood up, hoding the sides of her head, "You let Luna out?!"

Her father raised his eyebrows, "Don't get so upset over it! Luna wanted to go out, so I let her out, no big deal."

"NO BIG DEAL!?" She was a furious. "Luna could get lost again, do you want that to happen?"

"I suppose not."

Serena was far too livid to say anything to her dad right now, so she, instead, slipped on her shoes and hurried out the front door. Muttering to herself all the way, she stormed down the street in the one direction that she was positive Luna went: after Goku. She picked up her pace, hoping that she would be able to catch up to Luna before she did anything to get herself in trouble. Eventually, she saw flashing lights up ahead, and had the fleeting hope that someone had gotten the power working again. Her hope soon faded when she realized that the light came from three police cars parked in no particular order. Serena slowed down to investigate. 


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14 A rookie policeman approached her, "Excuse me, miss, but you can't go here. Please take another route to wherever you are going."

"What happened here?" Serena looked past the policeman, but couldn't see much in the night.

"That information is classified," the rookie extended his arm to usher her away.

At that moment, Rae stopped them, "Serena, wait!" She caught Serena's wrist and almost immediately started pulling her toward the scene. "Serena, come on, I need you to tell Detective Kosha a few things about Goku!"

"Goku? What about Goku?" Serena stumbled as Rae dragged her along. "Rae, hold up, what's going on?"

The female detective who tried to arrest Goku was waiting with one of the first policemen holding a flashlight for her. Kosha looked up from her notepad at the two girls.

Rae stopped a few feet away from Kosha, with Serena panting to catch her breath, "Detective Kosha, this is Sarina; she was with Goku while all this took place." Sarina's eyes widened at the state the street was in as Kosha flipped to a new page in her notebook, then started asking questions, "Serena, do you know if Mr. Goku or Mr. Vegeta had any enemies or possible enemies?"

"What? No . . . " Sarina trailed off, then started again, "Well, he did mention someone named Garlic Junior, but I have no idea who he is."

Detective Kosha scribbled something down, "What were you doing with Mr. Goku earlier today?"

"We were looking for my cat, Luna."

"Did he say anything to you about Vegeta or Garlic Junior?"

"No, not really."

Kosha eyed Serena suspiciously, "Please, tell me everything you know about this case; it will be hard enough to crack without you withholding information, too."

Serena looked down at the ground, "Well, he said that Garlic was evil and that Vegeta hated cats, that's all."

Kosha nodded, "Thank you for your cooperation. We'll notify your parents that you're being held at the police station for further questioning."

Both girls were appalled.

"But Detective, we've already answered your questions!" Rae complained.

"Yes, I know, but I still have more to ask you two. Please, stay with the . . ."

A massive boom cut the detective cut the detective short.

A blue beam, about the size of a truck, rammed into one of the haphazardly placed police vehicles, incinerating parts of it. The beam disappeared, and, as if on cue, the street lamps came on. Beneath their yellow glow, a blue, four-armed form appeared, struggling to stay standing. The police car, now on its side, obstructed the view of several people, but Serena and Rae could see clearly the look of hatred on Sushi's face.

"Bastard!!"

A human, shorter than Sushi, rused to his side and skidded to a halt with one foot,using the other one once he stopped to face in the direction from which the blast came.

Goku's voice came in from off to the side, as if the two were watching him, "What's wrong? You two aren't afraid of little ol' me, are ya?"

Sushi shook his right upper fist in Goku's direction, "Why don't you come here and say that to my fist! Or are you the scardy cat?"

"I'm not scared of you two weaklings," Goku strolled into view as casually as possible. "Well, I'm waiting. Are you going to attack me, or not?"

Sushi was boiling over, "Why you little . . ! I should pull that damn tongue of yours right out of your throat!"

Goku merely laughed, "I'm shaking in my boots."

"Damn you!" Sushi coiled back, ready to strike.

"Sushi!" the human barked. "Relax a bit; this over-stuffed turkey isn't going anywhere."

The blue monster turned to his friend, "What?"

"Ha ha ha. This guy isn't going to leave, he's going to stay right here instead. And kill us."

The people present were shocked at the statement, yet Goku seemed not to care, even as the man continued.

"That's right. This guy will stop at nothing to kill us, all because we follow Garlic Junior. Yes, my friend, he isn't going far."

Detective Kosha, as well as several other police officers, drew their guns on Goku, "I knew it!" Kosha shouted to no one in particular. "He's the one responsible for this! That's why he refused to stay!"

Rae and Serena couldn't say anything in their disbelief. They couldn't conceive the fact that Goku could hurt someone, much less kill them.

"Give me a break!" Goku smirked, "You should know better, Tyler, that I can dodge bullets."

"Duh," the human, who Goku called Tyler, mocked, "who can't? But I am right, aren't I?"

"Well, to a point."

"See?" Tyler said to Sushi. "We can take all the time we want. Heh, we could even toy with these guys if we wanted to," he waved his hand in the police officers' direction.

Sushi's wicked grin appeared on his face as he imagined the fun he could have, "Right, I get it. And since Lord Garlic and Cinnamon are looking for the Red Heart Crystal, we have a lot of time to kill," he started laughing demonically.

Goku fisted his hands at his side, "Listen, are we going to start or not? You may have the time, but I'm running on a tight schedule, and need to get this over with."

Tyler leaned back and crossed his arms, "Alright, if you want to start, go ahead."

Goku didn't look too happy, but started the battle anyway. He pushed off, gliding over the ground in a straight line for Tyler. Tyler jumped to the side in the nick of time to avoid a right hook by Goku. When Goku stopped to change course, Sushi stepped in and trapped Goku in a tangle of arms. Goku shrieked as the blue brute squeezed, like a python, preventing him from breathing. Shrieking was the worst thing Goku could have done, for now he was running out of oxygen at a rapid pace; still, he fought back. Sushi was a tough opponent, for if Goku got one arm to loosen its strangle hold, the other three tightened theirs.

Tyler came back, "Oh-ho! It looks like our cocky little rooster isn't so tough after all. So, do you have anything to say to us now?"

Goku's vision started to black-over, then turned red when Tyler punched him across the face. He knocked Goku around a little more before Detective Kosha attempted to intervene.

"Stop! Sir, you have no authority to strike at this man! Let the law handle this!"

"The Law?" Tyler said cryptically before glaring over his shoulder. "This is too hot for the law to handle," he powered up, flames of blue energy licking at the air and causing Kosha to back away. "I suggest you toughen up," he cause the energy around him to flare into a crackling inferno, "or get out of my way!"

Tyler turned completely around to confront the detective. Although he wasn't extremely tall, he cut an overwhelming figure in the hazy blue light of the flames that lapped greedily at the night. Detective Kosha faltered as she stepped backwards. Tyler rushed in, wrapped an arm behind her body and grabbed her head with the same hand. With his other, he swiftly bent her gun out of working condition.

"If you piss me off in a good mood, I might let you die quickly. Catch me in a bad one," Tyler narrowed his eyes with menace, "and you'll be begging me to let you die."

Kosha's eyes widened. The flames weren't hot, just extremely containing. She couldn't move, yet she had to escape. Kosha attempted to fire her gun, but nothing happened. Tyler laughed at the terrified, helpless look on the detective's face when she realized that she couldn't get out of this herself. He shoved her cruelly to the ground while turning down the flames. Goku was barely hanging on to consciousness when Sushi heaved him on the ground, face first, next to Kosha. He gulped for air as Sushi joined with Tyler in his demonic laughing. Goku flipped himself over and clapped a hand to the center of his chest. Kosha, wide-eyed, looked over at Goku while he gasped in oxygen. Sushi strutted up to Tyler's side, then leaned down to taunt the two.

"Ain't this a pretty sight, eh Tyler? Two pigeons all fluffed up and just sit'n there, waiting to be flushed from the bush. All we need is the dog to do it. . . "

"And the hunter to shoot them out of the sky," Tyler finished, then broke out into his hair-raising laughter.

By this time, Goku had regained his breath, and was glaring back at Sushi and Tyler, not amused. "Well, if we're such easy pickings, why don't you kill us now?"

Sushi's smile drained all color from Detective Kosha's face, "That wouldn't be any fun, now would it?"

"In fact, you should be thanking us for our kindness," Tyler cut in. "If Cinnamon was here, he would have killed you long ago. Unlike myself, Sushi, and th' Boss, Cinnamon derives no joy from the suffering of others; only their deaths."

Sushi continued the narrative, "That's why our Lord was willing to spare him his life, in return for his loyalty, of course. Cinnamon wastes no time in toying with his opponents; he either kills them or incapacitates them as quickly as possible."

Goku looked up at Sushi from under his eyebrows while wiping his mouth with a wrist, "Gee, I feel so privileged. Now, instead of having my head bashed in and a quick death, you're going to slowly bleed the life out of me while knocking me around like a punching bag."

"That's the plan," Sushi crossed his four arms across her bare blue chest. "We could just kill you right here an' now if you prefer."

Goku smiled, "Please."

Tyler needed no second urging. Still in flames, he cocked his arm back and threw forth a beam of energy. With one swift motion, Goku dove on Kosha, grabbed hold of her, and shot the two of them away like a canon. Within the time frame of half a second, Goku had gone from being in immediate danger to being half-way safe and next to Serena and Rae, still holding Kosha.

The detective had flinched, and was startled when she found herself a good distance from Tyler and Sushi; Goku holding on to her didn't help either.

"Are you okay?" Goku asked without taking his eyes off Garlic's minions.

Kosha pushed herself away, "I'm fine! I could have you arrested for assault on a police officer for that little 'trick' of yours."

Goku didn't seem to hear her.

"Well," Tyler boasted, "it seems you didn't really mean what you said about wanting to die quickly."

Goku was loosing patience, "Oh, I do want to die quickly, just not by your hands if I can help it."

"Too bad," Tyler smirked. "You just gave up your chance at dying quickly, and either way we choose to kill you, it'll still be by 'our hands,' as you say."

Sushi snorted, "Let's skip the small talk and get straight to the action." He uncrossed his arms and fisted his hands, bending his upper arms. 


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15 Tyler all of a sudden disappeared, and less than a second later, Goku whirled around and slugged him in the face. Sushi appeared, hoping to catch Goku off-guard, but Goku elbowed him in the stomach. Tyler rushed back as everyone else rushed to get away. He attempted a punch, but Goku blocked, then zipped away before Sushi could smash a double right hook into his side. They pursued him, but Goku gave them the slip once more as he jerked away from the crime scene, and back towards the road where he made his entrance. Sushi slammed left-fists first into one of the police cars, but Tyler was swift enough to avoid the collision and was first after Goku. Sushi wrenched himself free of the tangle of metal and powered off to catch up to Goku, who skidded over to where Sushi and Tyler had been moments before. Tyler and Sushi halted when Goku spun to face them. Goku's chest rose and fell with his effort to breathe, Tyler was just as winded, but Sushi hadn't quickened his breath one bit.

Sushi smiled, "Tired already, you two? I'm not even finished warming up!"

"Man," Goku huffed to himself, "these guys work really good as a team. There's no way I'll be able to beat them if they keep fighting together like this."

Sushi was getting impatient, and started to taunt Goku, "C'mon! I can't stand it! Are we going to fight or what!?"

"Sushi, chill!" Tyler told his comrade. "You might not need to catch your breath, but I do, so just give me a break, and we can continue."

"How 'bout we take turns?" Sushi raised an eyebrow. "I'll take him on 'till I get tired, then you take over. This guy's pretty good; he'll last long enough for you to get a turn"

"_Yes, say yes!_" Goku encouraged silently.

Still huffing slightly, Tyler wiped the side of his mouth with his arm, "I know I'm probably making a big mistake, but, okay, we can take turns. You first."

"_ALL RIGHT!_" Goku cheered mentally.

Sushi gave a devilish grin to Goku, then charged him.

"Uh-oh! I'm not ready!" Goku blocked as Sushi practically flew into him with two fists.

"Well you'd better get ready," Sushi swung his other two fists, bringing one in high and the other in low, "because I'm not waiting any longer!"

Goku attempted to block the fists, but he had only one arm free. Upon contact, Goku was thrown shoulder-first into the front of a building. Sushi pursued, and started pummeling Goku further into the wall, until a hole was borne through it.

"I'm gonna grind you into dust with my bare hands; then I'll take care of your friends on by one," Sushi mocked as he stalked into the shadows after Goku.

The silence that followed lasted only a second, but it seemed like an eternity had passed before a booming sound, like a drawn-out gunshot, erupted from the darkness. Sushi was catapulted out of the gaping black maw of the mangled storefront, and skidded along the ground, creating a rut similar to the one he forced Vegeta into making. When he finally stopped, Goku stepped deliberately through the mess of the building into the light of the street lamp. His hair gleamed a brilliant golden color.

"I'm sick of your twisted little game," Goku began. "all you can think about is fighting and hurting people; bringing pain to others."

Sushi didn't seem shaken as he stood, "So?"

"I'm sick of it! I can't stand people like you! People who's only purpose is to make other's lives a hell shouldn't be allowed to live at all; they should be irradiated like the pests they are. People like you are the true bane of society, who don't deserve the life they've been given. Because of that," Goku paused mid-sentence to clench his fists tighter, "I'm going to give you a taste of your own medicine!"

Sushi grinned wickedly, "Bring it on."

Goku practically teleported to Sushi, and elbowed him in the face. He seemed to be in two places at once when he ran behind the blue beast and clobbered him good a few times. Sushi attempted to fly away from the assault, a feat which extracted gasps of amazement from the gathered crowd, but Goku followed him to the night sky. 

Serena freaked out, "Whoa! He can fly? Nobody told me Goku could fly!"

There was a pause as the two combatants rose out of sight, but soon Sushi came crashing down to Earth again. He leapt out of the crater he formed and stared, wide eyed, at Goku, who descended like some supernatural angel from above, landing gently on his feet.

"Who - What are you?!" Sushi stammered.

"Apparently your worst nightmare," Goku answered flatly.

Rae noticed that Sushi was bleeding at the corners of his mouth, and was about to see if Serena had noticed it, too, when Tyler nabbed her. She managed a strangled scream before his hand covered her mouth and rose to hover in the air, about even with the rooftops. Everyone turned, and when Goku saw what was going on, he took a step closer to her.

"Rae!"

Tyler chuckled, "Rae," he tested the name on his tongue, "is that her name? Yes? It's a beautiful name for such a beautiful young lady." Tyler used the thumb on the hand holding Rae's mouth shut to stroke her cheek, "It would be such a pity if I had to kill her because of a mistake on your part. You wouldn't want her to die at such a precious young age, now would you?" He laughed softly at the glare of hatred Goku leveled at him. "You well let Sushi and myself leave here, unescorted, to return to Garlic Junior. Understood?"

In defeat, Goku could only boil in his anger, "Understood."

"Oh, and Goku," Tyler added in a teasingly sweet voice, "the hair? I'm afraid I don't much like the color; the glare from it hurts my eyes."

At this remark, Sushi grinned in that eerie fashion of his. Goku balked silently, but in the end, he returned his hair to normal form without any verbal complaint. Tyler laughed demonically at the way he had Goku wrapped around his little finger, then he flew off, followed closely by Sushi. When they winked out of sight, Goku cursed and punched into the ground, cracking the pavement beneath his fist.

"Dammit! I should have known they wouldn't fight fair!" He stood up and looked out after them, "I should have never taken my eyes off that one!"

"Rae! Rae, come back!" Serena called dramatically after Rae before turning on Goku, "Why did you let them get away?! Couldn't you have just done some of your kung-fu stuff to stop them?"

Goku looked down at his fists, "No, it wouldn't have done any good."

"What do you mean? I saw you _fly_ after that big blue guy, for goodness sake!"

"Serena, listen to me!" Goku was clenching his fists so hard the veins on his arms stood out. "Tyler already had her right where he needed her to have the most effect. If he saw me move, he could have snapped her neck right then and there. Even if I was able to get to him, he could have dropped her and grabbed anther hostage while I went to save her."

"But you could have done something to save her from those evil monsters, why didn't you?"

"Because I'm not fast enough, Sarina!" Goku glared at Serena. "I did the best thing possible!"

Just then, Kosha's voice could be heard talking to the speaker of the only squad car that remained untouched, "Chief? Chief, this is Detective Kosha; the scene here has gone chaotic! Two unidentified suspects have taken the witness hostage and Goku has returned. Sir, I need. . . Hey!"

Kosha shrieked in surprise when Goku's hand covered the radio and pulled it from her.

"The more people you pull into this mess, the more funerals you'll need to attend," Goku scoweled at Kosha before yanking the speaker cord right out of the radio. "Get everyone out of here, now!"

Kosha grabbed Goku's wrist after he tossed the speaker onto the seat of the police vehicle, "And just where do you think you're going? You have a lot of explaining to do, Mister!"

Without warning, Goku slyly powered up, forming his energy to mimic the blue flames Tyler had made. Kosha released his wrist in terror and stumbled backward, as if trying to escape the horrible memory Tyler had etched into her mind forever.

"You remember what he said, right?" Goku reffered to Tyler. "Let me refresh your memory: 'If you piss me off in a good mood, I might let you die quickly. Catch me in a bad one, and you'll be begging me to let you die.' That was a warning, and the consequence. You don't even come close to having the power to defeat these guys. I suggest you heed his words, or I personally will see that you suffer for all the innocent lived you destroyed by bringing them into this mess. Up until now, I've been very patient; but, it seems I have no more patience left to waste on fool like you."

Goku halted the inexplicable blue fire and just walked away, back to the street he came from, and out of sight. 


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16 After Vegeta was rushed to the hospital, the doctors had performed emergency surgery to "save his life." The doctors and nurses were appalled at the amount of brain wave activity Vegeta showed when they attached him to the vital sign monitoring system.

"My...goodness," a portly nurse commented. "That isn't normal, is it?"

A younger doctor spoke up, "No, that's far from normal. We'll have to take some cross-section scans of his brain if his condition stabilizes."

A volunteer nurse, about Serena's age, noticed Vegeta's eyebrow twitch, "Oh! Was that a good response, doctor?"

"I think it had more to do with reflexes than anything," the doctor said almost doubtfully.

The nurse turned to leave, unaware of the thoughts that were forming in Vegeta's mind.

"_That aura . . . I, I feel like I know it from somewhere. The crystal!! That's the Red Heart Crystal! It's been here, right under our noses the entire time! But, if it's been here, how come we haven't found it until now? No, wait, it's leaving, come back! Damn!_"

The doctor and the nurses left the room, leaving Vegeta to the emergency ward's staff.

  


***

  


Back at the old museum, Goku was trying frantically to contact Dende`, "Dende`, Dende` are you there? Can you hear me? Come on, answer me! Dende`!"

Finally the empty room rang with Dende`'s voice, "Yes, yes, I'm here! Now, what is the matter, Goku?"

"Bad news, Dende`. Garlic's here already, and from what I hear, Vegeta's been messed up pretty good."

"Oh my."

"Yeah, but it get's worse. We haven't found the Red Heart Crystal yet!"

"Oh dear!"

"Right. Listen, Dende`, I really need some help here. Maybe you could get Gohan or Piccolo to come, and some Senzu beans would _really_ help Vegeta right about now."

Dende` was silent for a moment before speaking, "It's possible, but it's also a tall order. All I can say is, I'll try."

"I don't mean to sound bossy, but you'd better try fast. I haven't the slightest idea where the Crystal is, or if Garlic does, either."

"Yes, I understand, but are we going to stand around and yap all day, or are we going to get some work done?"

Goku smiled, "I'm reading ya loud and clear, Dende`. See ya!"

Goku turned and hurried out the door after he was sure Dende` had cut the connection. The power was back on, but there was still no one out because of the late hour.

He gritted his teeth as he started back towards the hospital, "_I hope Vegeta can hang on long enough for Dende` to get the Senzu beans for him. If he can't, we're in big trouble._"

After a bit of walking, Detective Kosha came running. "Wait!"

Goku stopped and turned.

Kosha halted and caught her breath, then continued with what she had to say, "Listen, I'm not here to arrest you, only to get answers. For now, let's just say that you're right, and the Police can't handle this, whatever 'this' is. What are you going to do about it?"

"Well, I don't plan on handling this alone," Goku regarded her coldly.

Kosha was perplexed by this answer, "Who are you going to get to help you? There can't possibly be others who..." she trailed off at the sly look that formed on Goku's face.

"I know of at least half a dozen people who could help me in this situation, and I've already sent out for help. Someone should be here within the day."

"Who will be here? What's his name?"

Goku turned his back on the detective, "I didn't say I knew exactly who would come, did I? All that matters is that someone will respond to my S.O.S. and will come to help, I'm sure of it." He started away, "Now, I need to find Vegeta."

Kosha hurried to keep up with him, "But, isn't he the one that's critically injured?! He might not even live through the night!"

"Oh, he'll live. It's not in Vegeta's nature to give up to anything for any reason."

"I don't understand-"

Goku cut her off, "You wouldn't. I don't expect you to. Now, if you'd excuse me, I have work to do."

A hauntingly familiar purr set Goku's hair on end, "Worrk to do? And here I wass hoping to get a few worrds in with you."

Goku whirled around, eyes wide, and moved Kosha behind him as he did so.

Cinnamon stepped out of the shadows, "Pleasse, do not be alarrmed. I only wishh to talk."

"What kind of talk?"

The red cat glanced around, his long hair flipping about himself, "I'll tell you, jusst not here." He motioned down a nearby alley, "Come, follow me." He seemed to dematerialize back into the shadows as he made for the alley.

Detective Kosha was doubtful, "That's the same thing that tried to kill you, isn't it? It has to be a trap!"

Goku wasn't so sure, "I don't know. He didn't want to fight before, and he doesn't seem too eager to start a battle now. I say it couldn't hurt."

"What?! Are you nuts?" Kosha was appalled.

"Goku headed for the alley.

"But what if it's a trap?" She protested.

"We'll just have to find out," Goku gently kept Kosha behind him. "Better let me go first, just in case."

He carefully peeked around the alley's corner and saw Cinnamon at the far end of the alley with his back to them. Goku eased himself closer to the center of the gap between the buildings, still keeping one hand on the wall. Kosha couldn't resist the urge to see what was going on.

Cinnamon addressed Goku, "Thank you forr coming. I need ssomeone to talk to that issn't obssessed with contrrroling the worrld."

"Why come to me?" Goku still held on to the wall.

Cinnamon sighed, "You sseem to be much more rreassonable than yourr parrtner." He turned around and spoke quickly, "I need yourr help to kill Masster Garrlic."

"Wha-!" Goku's eyebrows shot up as he staggered backward a step.

The red cat turned his head left and right, shaking his hair as well, "Hearr me out. I neverr wanted to join Masster Garrlic's posssie in the firrst place, he made me. In rreturn forr the lives of my people, I had to ssurrenderr mysself and my family to him."

"Surrender?" Goku cautiously took his hand off the wall. "What do you mean by that?"

Still not meeting Goku's eyes, Cinnamon flattened his ears with the ache in his heart, "I am hiss sslave, as arre the resst of my family. Az long az Masster Garrlic holdss them underr hiss powerr, I musst do az he ssays, or he may kill them."

Goku seemed to have forgotten that Cinnamon was supposed to be his enemy, "Gosh, I always knew Garlic was evil, but I never expected him to stoop so low."

Cinnamon sheepishly looked up, his piercing red eyes filled with pain and sorrow, "I know what he hass done to them; I've sseen it. I don't want my family to ssufferr on my account any longer. If I could trade my ssoul for theirr freedom, I would." He winced and turned his eyes to the ground once more, "Az it iss, I can do nothing forr them."

"What can I do to help?" Goku asked sincerely, as though he was really sharing Cinnamon's pain.

The cat creatures ears shot up, emphasizing his hope as he looked at Goku, "You will help me?"

"Yes. I have a family of my own, and one of my worst fears is that someone would use them to control me. I know how you feel, Cinnamon, and I would do the same thing as you if I were in your shoes."

Cinnamon's eyes glazed over with tears, "Thank you! Thank you sso much! I will forreverr be in yourr debt if you help me!"

Goku took a friendly step forward, "You're welcome in advance. How can I help?"

"If you arre able to get my family away frrom Masster Garrlic, I will be frree of my prromisse to him, and I can fight along sside you."

Goku raised his eyebrows, "Sounds easy enough. But tell me, where does Garlic keep your family?"

Cinnamon tapped his red-furred chest, "He keepss them closse to his hearrt in little magic bottless. He hass my wife and my thrree children under hiss cape, wherre he can alwayss keep an eye on them."

"Well, that's a good start," Goku folded his arms and rubbed his chin with thought. "Are you sure he keeps them there all the time?"

"I told you all I know. Perhapss he doess, but perhapss not."

"Thank you. I'll do my best, friend."

"And I, mine. Frriend."

Cinnamon seemed greatly relieved that Goku had called him friend, and actually smiled before bounding gracefully up to the roof of the building, dissappearing into the night. Once he was gone, Kosha voiced her doubts.

"He's lying. Any fool could tell he was making all that junk up just to win you over."

Goku faced her, "I don't think so. If he was lying, he'd done an extremely good job of masking his feelings." Kosha stared blankly at him. "All the time we were talking, I was using my energy to feel if his words were true to his feelings. As far as I can tell, everything he told me was the truth."

"Even the part about the magic bottles?"

"Even that." Goku started walking away, "Come on, I'd better escort you back to the police station. There's no telling what could happen to you with Garlic Junior running amok."

Numbly, Kosha followed Goku.


	17. Chapter 17

"How did you know his name?" Kosha asked, stunned. 

Goku half-shrugged, "I didn't, I guessed. Rae said that there were five of them, and one had to be Garlic Junior. That left Tyler, Sushi, and Cinnamon, and since I already knew who Tyler and Sushi were that only left Cinnamon. I know what you're thinking; that there were two people left and either one of them could have been Cinnamon. That's where I guessed, and apparently guessed right." 

Kosha nodded, finally Goku was saying something she could understand. 

  


***

  


Serena, Derick, Jake, Cookies, and Jennifer were all waiting together in Detective Kosha's office. 

Serena started talking to no one in particular, "I don't believe Goku did all that. Flying, changing his hair, all that kung-fu stuff! I mean, he used to be a nice, normal guy. Now that Vegeta was almost killed, he's tripped!"

Jake added to her thoughts, "I saw it with my own eyes, and I still don't believe it. He seemed like a nice guy at the time."

Serena looked up at Jake, "How do you know Goku?"

"He and I passed on the street this morning, and Cookies here," the dog looked up at the mention of his name, "scared his cat off."

"His cat?" Serena blinked. "Goku doesn't have a cat."

"Oh? Well, he had a black one that he called Meta."

"A black one--Meta," Serena parotted. "Hey! That's what he called Luna! That means that he was really going to keep her as a pet if she didn't belong to someone."

Derrick shrugged, "So what? You shouldn't let your cat run free, anyway. It's harmful to the wildlife, and dangerous for her, too."

Serena wasn't phased, "Luna's never killed anything other than a few daisies, and she can take good care of herself."

Derrick let it drop. Detective Kosha staggered in dazed and confused from the odd incident between Goku and Cinnamon. She took her seat behind her desk, which was kiddy-corner to the entrance, and stared at the four people.

Without warning, she just flicked her hand, "You're free to go. All of you."

"Huh?" Serena's eyes widened.

"But, I thought you wanted to question us about that man," Jake reminded her.

"Yes, yes," Kosha pulled out a large, yellow-paged notebook with a pen and flopped it on her desk. "Please leave your phone number, so I can contact you if I have any questions."

Serena was the first to scribble her home phone number on the paper, "Okay, then, I'll just pop on home and you can call me after school tomorrow!"

Derrick whispered to Jake, "You'd think she'd be at least a little worried about her friend."

Jake whispered back, "You'd think."

Serena left the police department and turned toward home. She was startled by Goku further down the street, when he stepped in front of her.

"Hey, Serena, how'd the questioning go?"

"Oh, Goku, you scared me. The questioning? Um, there wasn't any questioning. The detective just let us go."

"I didn't think she'd continue with her original plans," Goku smirked, pleased with something.

Serena felt lost, and didn't like it, "What are you talking about?"

"Nothing important," Goku shook his head, then turned his side to Serena. "You probably have to go home, right? Here, put your hand on my shoulder, I'll have you there in a jiff."

Serena raised her eyebrows and complied, "Like this?"

"Perfect," Goku reassured her before putting hes first two fingers to his forehead, between his eyes. With the blink of an eye, he teleported himself and Serena to within a block of her home. Serena nearly fell over.

"How, how, how'd you..." She stammered.

Goku merely waved at her and shut his eyes, "You wouldn't understand. Just go on home and get some sleep. I'm sure you'll have to go to school tomorrow now that the power's back on."

A "teardrop" appeared on Serena's head, "Oh yeah, that's right. I forgot about school."

"And Serena?" Goku called as she started walking away. "Don't worry about Rae; I'll do everything I can to get her back."

Serena flailed her arms, "AHHH! I _completly forgot_ about Rae! Oh no!"

Goku hooded his eyes as Serena ranted on while running home, "Perhaps I shouldn't have reminded her."

He shrugged and turned to go once Serena was inside her house. Halfway back to the old Museum, be ran across Luna on her way home.

"Hey, what are you doing out, Meta? Should't you be at home with Serena?" Goku stopped to stare at Luna. "Oops! I'm sorry, I forgot that your real name isn't Meta. Oh well, just go on home before Serena gets worried again."

Luna watched as Goku walked on, "_Go home? What does he think I am, a dog_?

Goku stopped when Luna started to trail him, "I told you to go home. Serena's already worried about Rae, she doesn't need you scaring her, either."

Luna screeched to a halt, "_How did he know I was following him_? _And what is he talking about_? _What's happened to Rae_?"

Goku glared at the cat, "Did you hear me? I said go home!"

She took a step back.

"Go on, go home before Serena gets worried," Goku scowled over his shoulder.

"Luna, reluctantly, left the scene, "_What was that all about_? _I'd better clear things up with Serena_?"

Goku continued in his own direction, silently wondering what to do next. Between Cinnamon's plea for help, and Vegeta's desperate need of it, he didn't know where to begin. And what was happening with Dende`? Who wa he going to send to help, and when was it coming? All the factor were starting to get on his nerves, and the fact that Garlic had control of Rae was even more frusterating than anything else. With all the complications that had come up, finding the Red Heart Crystal would have to be put on the back burner; for now. When he finally reached the museum that had come to be his base, he was in for a pleasant surprise. There, sitting just outside the front door, was Krillin.

Krillin popped up on his arrival, "Goku! Hey man, what's been happenin'?"

Goku sighed with relief, "Ah, Krillin, good to see you! A lot of bad stuff has been going on lately, and you came just in time to help."

"Good thing. Dende` didn't have time to explain, and just hustled me here saying that you'd tell me everything."

Goku smiled and nodded, "Yes, I will, but only after you tell me why Dende` chose to send you here."

Krillin looked down, "Well, he didn't exactly choose to send me, the task just kinda fell to me. Ya see, Chi-Chi wouldn't let either of your boys come, it being a school weekend and all."

"Typical," Goku folded his arms.

Still looking down, Krillin continued, "Yeah, and Piccolo didn't want to leave Dende` alone, and Bulma insisted that Trunks is too young to go anywhere on his own. So, naturally, Dende` came to me, and I decided to take the job, being as no one else could."

"Well, I appreciate it. I really need someone I can count on right now, and who better than you?"

Krillin grinned lopsidedly as he looked up at Goku, "You have a point there, old friend."

"Right. Now, let's talk about or position inside. It's getting a little chilly out here."

Once inside, Goku recapped the events that had happened since Vegeta's and his arrival, excluding the encounter with Cinnamon.

Krillin stared blankly at Goku, "Whoa, Dende` was right when he said you were in trouble. And now I know why he wanted me to give you these," he pulled a small brown sack out of his pants pocked and held it out to Goku.

"Senzu Beans!" Goku took the bag from Krillin's outstretched hand. "And a lot of 'em, too!"

Krillin laughed a little, "Yeah, Vegeta will be glat that those came, won't he?"

Goku clapped Krillin's back, "He sure will! First thing tomorrow, we'll give him one and he'll be back on his feet in no time!"

"Good idea. And while we're waiting, we can start looking for your friend. Uh, what was her name again?"

"Rae." Goku smiled weakly, "I guess that means I won't be getting much sleep tonight."

"Guess not," Krillin returned Goku's smile.

Goku pointed a thumb at the door, "Well, are we going, or no?"

"Oh, right!" Krillin started out first.

Goku hung the bag of Senzu Beans from his belt while following Krillin out. "If we start this way," he pointed up the road, "we might have a better chance of finding her. Sushi and Tyler headed in this direction after our little scuffle, so I'm guessing their base is somewhere over there."

"Sounds good to me. Let's go."

Goku and Krillin moved on, unaware of the red shadow that followed them. The two moved on, sensing for auras as they went up and down streets, yet found no trace of Rae or of Garlic Junior's minions. The search went on for close to three hours with no luck, until Goku was suddedly pulled to the back of an alley. Split seconds later, Krillin was hoisted through the air as well. Both of them ended up plastered to the back wall of the alley, and were held, off the ground, by some unseen force. Goku immediately started to struggle, and Krillin picked up his lead. The same red shadow that followed them from the museum dropped down from the roof of one of the buildings, and blinked calmly.

Startled by it, Krillin studdered, "G-G-Goku!"

Goku stopped and looked up, "Huh? Cinnamon?"

The cat's eyes slitted, turning to Goku.

"Cinnamon, what's this all about? What's going on?" Goku inquired. He started getting worried when the cat didn't answer him, "What's wrong?"

Cinnamon stepped closer to Goku, "Can I trrusst him?"

"Who?"

Cinnamon motioned to Krillin with his head.

Goku laughed with relief, "Oh, him! Sure you can; he's just my friend, Krillin."

"Can I trrusst you?" Cinnamon's purring tone sent shivers running up Krillin's spine, and set Goku's hair on end.

Goku tried to act as aclmy as possible, "Of course. Cinnamon, this is me you're talking about!"

Cinnamon was only a few feet from him, "What doess that mean to me?"


	18. 18

"What's wrong with you?" Goku furrowed his eyebrows in cautious confustion. "Have you forgotten our agreement already? I'm Goku, we're friends."

Cinnamon slammed the palm of his paw-like hand against the wall beside Goku's head, "Liar!" He brought his face within inches of Goku's, "Don't you _dare_ play me forr a fool, Goku."

"You're the one who's being the fool!" Goku forced himself to calm down and be patient, or he could loose everything. "Cinnamon, think back a few hours. Remember what you said to me, about how Garlic was holding your family hostage, and is forcing you to work for him? Think back. If you don't remember, I do, and I still want to help you."

"Liar!" Cinnamon hissed.

Krillin bravely decided to step in, "Hey, stop calling Goku a liar! He and I have been best friends since we were little kids, and I've never known him to lie. If this is about me, then take whatever beef you have out on me, but leave Goku outta this!"

The red cat shifted his gaze to the midget, "Sso, you ssay he is telling the trruth?"

Krillin visibly swallowed, "L-like I said, I've never known Goku to lie, why should he start now?"

Cinnamon pushed himself away, "I'm ssorry forr the sscare, Goku, but I had to make ssure I could trrusst you completely."

"Well, do you?" Goku was annoyed.

Slowly, Cinnamon released his energy grip on Goku, allowing him to slide down the wall until he was standing on his own. "Ansswerr your quesstion?"

"What about Krillin?"

Cinnamon, as though he had forgotten, turned his attention to Krillin, and let him slide down just as Goku had done.

Goku didn't know what to think--Cinnamon had hidden his power so well, he was completely undetectable. Goku remained wary, "Listen, just tell me what's wrong. Whatever it is, I'm sure we can work something out."

Cinnamon turned his back to Goku, "I ssaid I was ssorry forr sscarring you. Masster Garrlic gave me a lecturre about you and yourr sson, and that made me doubt what you ssaid to me. Being the crreature of powerr that I oncce wass, I learrned not to take other people'ss worrd on thingss, and to make my own decissions about people. I had to deccide forr mysself if you were my frriend orr not, and the only way I knew how to do that wass to sse if you would sstay trrue to yourr worrd underr pressure. I am possitive now; you arre my trrue frriend."

Goku's trust didn't come back so quickly, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It meanss that I will neverr do that to you again. I know you arre not familiarr with the cusstomss on my planet, but, turning yourr back on yourr opponent is an act of ssubmission. By doing thiss, I am telling you that you arre the winnerr, and my fate iss in your hands." Cinnamon glanced over his shoulder, "The only possition that is more ssubmissive, is to kneel in frront of ssomeone with my head down, called a 'defeated bow.' I would perrforrm it forr you, but I am underr an oath to Masster Garrlic. I can bow to no one but him."

Goku decided to test the red cat's honor, "You seem to be a man of your word. If you really mean what you say, give me an oath, that you will not harm me or any of my friends."

"I cannot do that."


End file.
